How long can we expect deliberations to last in the tax fraud trial of New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams? It could be anyone's guess.
After barely more than a week of trial, former U.S. Attorney Harry Rosenberg says it's not easy to estimate how long it will take to reach a verdict.
"The trial lasted about six full days and it's hard to know how long the jury is going to deliberate," said Rosenberg.
A quick decision often means good news for the prosecution, but in a case like this, Rosenberg says this one is a little more tricky.
"Normally if they come back quickly it's favorable for the government, but in this case, it may be that the jury was convinced that the government fell short of proving intent," said Rosenberg.
And if deliberations drag out, Rosenberg said that doesn't mean either side is any more likely to win, either:
"Only that there may be conflict among the jurors as to whether it's a guilty verdict or a not guilty verdict," he explained.
Rosenberg said it was interesting that the defense didn't call any witnesses, because pre-trial filings here at federal court indicated they were prepared to do so, but apparently decided they didn't need to. Rosenberg says that tells him two things:
"One, that signals that they're feeling good about how their case went, and two, it is a subtle message to the jury that they don't need to call a witness because the government just hasn't proven its case."
