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State: No new trial for Dixon
The state prosecutor responded Monday afternoon to Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon’s motion for a new trial on the question of whether she embezzled gift cards intended for needy children.
State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh calls Dixon’s legal tactics “bombastic” and “outlandish” and says the defense engaged in “hyperbole” in its allegations of juror misconduct, rather than focusing on the facts.
“The nature of the verdict itself inspires confidence that the jury took its job seriously, and acted without bias or prejudice in evaluating the evidence,” Rohrbaugh wrote in a 51-page opposition motion, noting that the jury acquitted Dixon on three of the five counts and was hung on another.
While Dixon’s team pointed to jurors’ use of Facebook during the trial, Rohrbaugh says, the facts are that Facebook conversations did not broach the subject of Dixon’s guilt or innocence until after deliberations had concluded.
Rohrbaugh also alleges that Dixon’s lawyers were aware of the criminal history of juror Shiron Davis — an alleged cause for bias — prior to the selection process, but made a “tactical” bet that jurors would sympathize with Dixon.
“Having gambled and lost, the Defendant cannot utilize the alleged nondisclosure as her insurance policy to escape the verdict,” Rohrbaugh wrote.
Neither Dale P. Kelberman nor Arnold M. Weiner, Dixon’s two lead lawyers, could be reached for comment Monday evening.
Dixon’s defense team filed a motion for a new trial Dec. 11 — 10 days after the mayor was found guilty by a jury on one count of misappropriating gift cards.
In addition to juror misconduct, her lawyers alleged that the state failed to prove a key element of misdemeanor embezzlement, and that evidence of Dixon’s character should have been admitted into evidence.
In its response, the state argues that Dixon’s lawyers made the same arguments in their motion for a mistrial at the conclusion of the state’s case, at which time the trial judge was in a position to have his “finger on the pulse of the trial.”
Kelberman, one of Dixon lawyers, had argued in a mistrial motion during deliberations that jurors faced an “impossible task” and were being asked to become “Talmudic scholars” in parsing the charges against the mayor.
The defense team also cried foul over a ruling that prevented the jury from hearing evidence of Dixon’s charity and generosity.
Rohrbaugh counters that Dixon’s trial was about a mistake of fact — that she believed the gift cards were intended for her rather than for needy children — and that evidence of Dixon’s charitable character does not speak to whether she is the type of person prone to make a mistake.
A hearing on the new-trial motion has been scheduled for Jan. 6.
