Jury Works to Break Deadlocks in Clergy Sex-Abuse Trial

By John P. Martin
Philadelphia Inquirer
June 22, 2012

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20120622_Jury_works_to_break_deadlocks_in_clergy_sex-abuse_trial.html

Monsignor William Lynn arrives at the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia for a question by the jury on Wednesday, June 20, 2012. Monsignor Lynn is accused of allegedly covering up abuse by Catholic priests and Rev Brennan is accused of allegedly trying to rape a minor.

The deadlocked jury reported for duty again this morning in the trial of two Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests.

On Wednesday, the panel of seven men and five women said told Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina that after a dozen days of trying, it had reached a consensus on only one of the five counts against Msgr. William J. Lynn and the Rev. James J. Brennan. It did not identify which charge or defendant.

The jury had Thursday off, so a juror could attend to a family matter.

On Wednesday, in telling the jury to keep trying, Sarmina offered to let jurors rehear testimony if it could help break their impasse.

Observers are waiting to see if they act today on that invitation, which prompted much second-guessing and legal debate.

Lynn, 61, was the first church official nationwide to be tried for enabling or covering up clergy-sex abuse. He was accused of recommending that Brennan and another priest, Edward Avery, be allowed to live or work in parishes in the 1990s despite signs that they might abuse minors.

Defendant Brennan, 48, is accused of child endangerment and attempting to rape a 14-year-old boy in 1996. Avery pleaded guilty before the trial to sexually assaulting the 10-year-old altar boy in 1999 and is serving 2-1/2 to 5 years in state prison.

Only the judge will decide when jurors can quit. She could give them another charge, and compel them to keep meeting. They were warned when chosen the trial could last up to four months, a mark not yet hit.

Or, if the jury reports no hope of making headway, she could accept any agreements they have reached and declare a mistrial on the remaining counts.

Prosecutors would then have to decide whether to retry the case.

The length of the deliberations is ususual but not unprecedented.

The local record for deliberations appears to belong to a federal court jury that deliberated for 19 days in 2005 before convicting former City Treasurer Corey Kemp, two Commerce Bank executives, and two others on corruption charges.