Jurors continued to weigh the financial fraud case against Reb Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin yesterday but did not reach a verdict for the former Agriprocessors vice president. The five-man, seven-woman pool spent the day behind closed doors at the federal courthouse in downtown Sioux Falls. They resume deliberations tomorrow after today’s Veterans Day holiday.
Deliberations started on Monday afternoon. U.S. District Chief Judge Linda Reade dismissed three alternate jurors who sat through the nearly month-long trial, but said she might call one or more back if circumstances force out other jurors.
The original panel the trial lawyers chose had 16 jurors – 12 regulars and four alternates. One juror was dismissed earlier in the trial after she reportedly contracted H1N1 flu.
Jurors asked Reade at least one question yesterday about an instruction she gave them for applying the law. Reade told them to reread the instruction. Jurors’ questions are common during deliberations.
The evidence and testimonies – including that which Judge Reade inexplicably prevented the jury from hearing – demonstrates that R’ Shalom Mordechai has been targeted and is being railroaded. Nevertheless, those involved in the case are hopeful that justice can prevail and Reb Shalom Mordechai will be exonerated.
Reb Shalom Mordechai was targeted for destruction by PETA and the very unions which have destroyed manufacturing in the country and sent millions of jobs overseas. The Heksher Tzedek imitative was just one part of a greater effort aimed directly to bring down this successful company and family.
Unfortunately, there are haters out there who try to flood readers with misrepresentations, outright lies, and outrageous accusations. Others simply disseminate that which is reported in the press, without ensuring that what is written is true. Those who are well-informed are shocked that the government could be involved in such an unprecedented and unfair effort to besmirch an upstanding man.
A full overview of the last week of the court case in Sioux Falls will appear later today here on Matzav.com.
Please continue to daven for Shalom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivkah.
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{Des Moines Register/Matzav.com Newscenter}
The evidence and testimonies – including that which Judge Reade inexplicably prevented the jury from hearing – demonstrates that R Shalom Mordechai has been targeted and is being railroaded.
what was the jury prevented from hearing?
Yasher koach Matzav for keeping us up to date with the news. Keep saying Tehillim for SMR.
number 1) to Comment from just me.
Go to court & watch a trial, in order to understand why the Jury does not have to hear everything & it may be just the opposite of what you think. the are not suppose to hear everything in order not have thier mind swayed one way or the other, they have to be open minded to both sides the defense & prosecution.
but again you are very uneducated & dont have on idea what you are talking, so the next time spend some time in a court room, Listen to the judge & if you dont understand go over to Counsel at lunch & they will be very happy to explain to you whats happening. so stop making statement as it only shows your ignorance.
i have been in court to many times & understand why they dont have to hear everything & it happens at each & every trial. go to court & you will gain some wisdom. as a matter of fact most of the times both sides agree that the jury should not hear these things. so dont jump to conclusions & act foolish.
they were not allowed to bring in lawyers to say that they were in the plant working on stuff at the time of the raid
Izzy, apparently you are unaware of the facts. Among the witnesses that the judge refused to allow were those that were beneficiaries of abundant Reb Shalom’s chesed and tzedaka. You, like the judge, may not consider this relevant but these were IMORTANT witnesses to refute prosecutions claim that he defrauded the bank so he could “live a lavish lifestyle.” Those witnesses would have blown that contention out of the water. Another witness was a financial expert who had reviewed the paperwork and was to testify that it was IMPOSSIBLE for the banks to have been defrauded as they KNEW exactly what was going on. Kind of a critical point in a FRAUD case, don’t you think? He wasn’t allowed to testify either.
Maybe I missed this in the course of your diatribe against “just me,” but where exactly did you go to law school to claim such expertise on Federal Courts procedure? Uh huh. I thought so.
Beyond that, I feel compelled to say that resorting to personal insults is, at the very least, utterly uncalled for. Perhaps the one that needs to be educated (in middos tovos) is YOU. Frankly, I am surprised that matzav allowed your post to slip through.