Defense Attorney Bruce Barket addresses media following a jury note to the judge stating they are deadlocked. The judge is expected to decide Tuesday morning whether he will call a mistrial, or render another Allen Charge – forcing the jury back into deliberations. Standing behind Barket, to the right, is 53-year-old Calvin Harris, who is on trial for the charge of second-degree murder in connection with the disappearance of his wife Michele in September 2001. Next to Calvin Harris are two of his four children, Taylor and Tanner. (Photo by Wendy Post)
On Monday at 4:50 p.m., and following their eighth day of deliberations, the jury in the Calvin Harris second-degree murder trial sent a note to the judge. They were deadlocked, and could not come to a unanimous verdict. This is the second deadlock, with the last deadlock arriving last Tuesday.
In their note, the jury stated, “… efforts to continue would be fruitless.”
They had reached an impasse, they could not agree on a verdict of either guilty, or not guilty.
Before calling the jury back into the courtroom, Schoharie County Judge George R. Bartlett III discussed the note with counsel, and told them that he would give them another Allen Charge, thus forcing them back into deliberations.
Defense Attorney Bruce Barket immediately argued against this, and asked the judge to stop deliberations and declare a mistrial.
District Attorney Kirk Martin jumped in; telling the court that he felt a second reading of the Allen Charge was appropriate.
Barket immediately argued back, stating, “Declare a mistrial and let this jury go home. I’m afraid the jury will be forced to reach a verdict.”
The district attorney continued to argue for the Allen Charge, and stated that it was not coercive.
Judge Bartlett said that the first Allen Charge did not force them to change their minds. “It’s not coercive,” Judge Bartlett agreed.
With no unanimous consensus amongst the counsel, the judge decided to allow for the defense and the people to send him any filings overnight, and then he called the jury in and dismissed them for the day – telling them that he will respond to their note in the morning.
The jury was instructed to return at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
Following the dismissal of the jury, the defense attorney spoke to the media as he departed the courthouse at approximately 5:10 p.m.
Bruce Barket told the media that they have every confidence that Calvin Harris will be exonerated.
As for the note from the jury, Barket stated, “They have done their best [the jury] and it’s time to let them go. We have to respect the jury.”
Barket noted that he is calling for a motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence.
Otherwise, if the judge does decide to accept a mistrial on Tuesday, and the prosecution decides to move ahead with a fourth trial, Barket noted that he would not push for another venue.
“We’ve enjoyed Schoharie, and we see that we have a fair jury,” said Barket. “So if there’s a fourth trial, we’ll come back.”
Earlier in the day, the jury was reread the charge by the judge regarding this case. This was from a request made by the jury on Friday.
Judge Bartlett reread most of the charge to the jury, to include the court’s definition of the second-degree murder charge, the burden of proof and reasonable doubt, a list of the experts that testified, the difference between direct and circumstantial evidence, the difference between intent and motive, and then an instruction that sent the 12-member jury back into deliberations.
With just a little over 42 hours of deliberations spanning over eight days, the jury, in spite of their efforts, was unable to reach a unanimous verdict by the end of the day on Monday.
Last Tuesday, an Allen Charge rendered by the judge forced the jury back into deliberations. It has now been four days of deliberations since the Allen Charge, and eight days in total as of the end of the day on Monday.
Calvin Harris, age 53 of Spencer, N.Y., is on trial for a third time for the alleged murder of his wife, Michele Harris, who disappeared in September of 2001. Two previous convictions were overturned, and this new trial ordered in Schoharie County. Neither her body nor a weapon has ever been found.
The prosecution maintains that Calvin Harris murdered Michele Harris on Sept. 11, 2001, and has based this circumstantial case on blood spatter found inside the Harris’ home, as well as motive and behavior.
The defense claims their client is innocent, and that the prosecutors failed to look at other potential suspects – mainly Stacy Stewart. The defense conducted an investigation of their own, but a third party culpability ruling prevented the defense from presenting what they considered their most damning evidence to the jury.
