Opinion ID: 802339
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Closing Arguments and the Jury’s

Text: Verdict At a subsequent conference about jury instructions, Bergrin successfully requested that the jury be told it “is a defense to the charges in the Indictment that the defendant’s acts constituted lawful and legitimate legal representation of a client.” (D.N.J. ECF doc. no. 09-369, no. 327, at 46; see Joint App. at 4024-25 (Bergrin’s request).) Then, in summation, he 16 As to the Esteves Plot, the Court stated that if “there was a conviction [in Bergrin’s case], I would believe … that that conviction was the result of the Esteves evidence, because I don’t see how [the jury] could humanly put that out of their mind.” (Joint App. at 38.) As to the Pozo Plot, the Court again laid out its fear that “the jury would … have to parse out what exactly did Mr. Bergrin say … according to Mr. Pozo’s recollections eight months after the incident” given that “we’re talking about a drug dealer, and hearing words that he thought.” (Id. at 39.) 23 echoed his opening statement’s assertion that he was being “accused for doing [his] job,” to “defend the Constitution [by] mak[ing] sure that [Baskerville] ha[d] effective representation.” (Joint App. at 4188.) Indeed, while Bergrin again acknowledged that he had discussed Kemo’s name with Baskerville and disclosed it to Curry over the phone, he attributed his behavior to legitimate representation, and implored the jury not to conclude “under any circumstance, under any leap of bound and faith that [he] ever intended for one hair to be hurt on poor Kemo’s head.” (Id. at 4277; accord id. at 4194 (“I, under no circumstances, ever intended, ever wanted, ever told, ever warned, ever advised, ever informed anyone to ever harm a hair on the head of Kemo McCray. I never had that intent.”).) After six days of deliberation, the jury was unable to reach a verdict. As a result, the Court declared a mistrial on November 23, 2011, and scheduled a retrial on the Kemo Murder Counts for January 2012.