Media Roundup: Lull

The media reports, webbed overnight and today, on the Conrad Black trial have shrunk in number, reflecting the paucity of news yesterday:

1. A Bloomberg report, written by Joe Schneider and Andrew Harris, notes that the jury has not yet returned a verdict and mentions the only news of the day: Conrad's lawyers filing "with St. Eve a set of jury instructions indicting their preference for the panel, and not her, to determine any forfeiture amount" late yesterday afternoon.

2. A feature report by Marc Edge in TheTyee.ca outlines a supposed design by the Asper family to acquire predominance in the Canadian print media, as interpreted from court exhibits filed by the prosecution. It also mentions a fight that brewed between Izzy Asper and Conrad Black over the National Post's treatment of Mr. Asper's son, Leonard.

3. A Canadian Press item, webbed by Canada East, mentions that the jury will sit between 9 AM and 2 PM CT today before heading home for the July 4th holiday.

4. A midday report by Romina Maurino, as webbed by 680 News, features the same item mentioned in the Bloomberg report above: Conrad Black's choice to have the jury adjudicate the forfeiture dispute. Included in the report is suggested juror instructions from the defense and prosecution. The former spells out the duty of the jurors, while the latter asks for the property, with a RICO/wire fraud justification for doing so. [An updated version of the same report has some commentary from Hugh Totten, to the effect that the same jury who finds Conrad guilty is likely to agree to forfeiture. It also notes that the instructions should be decided upon later this week.]

5. BNN aired an update interview with trial-watcher Amanda Lang at 1:35 PM ET. She said that there had been no news from the jury; no notes were sent out. Some of the reporters are beginning to jury-watch; there's even some Kremlin-watching, or attempts to guess at the verdict and deliberation time based upon jurors' interactions. As of now, though, no inferences can be drawn from, or for, the length of deliberations. The jury might deliberate on Friday; if not, it would indicate a slow verdict. Deliberations could last for two weeks more. Ms. Lang reminded the viewers that there would be a lengthy stay in prison for Conrad even if he's only convicted on one major charge, thanks to the applicable sentencing guidelines. The defendants have an automatic right of appeal.

She also mentioned the decision on forfeiture, if Conrad Black is convicted, has been assigned to the jury. There are rumors that there was a split in his defense team, and that Michael Schachter (Peter Atkinson's counsel) was the one who got the team to put the responsibility in the hands of the jury.

6. Rick Westhead of the Toronto Star has written a brief report whose subject is the first note from the jurors today. "The note's contents are not significant but do indicate the jury is not close to reaching a verdict, said a lawyer involved with the case." The report also notes that deliberations will resume Thurdsay.

7. A feature by Anne Howland, as webbed by Global National, is about an issue related to the Conrad Black trial: corporate governance. The first part of the article assesses the effect of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the U.S., and the second explores the push for a national securities regulator in Canada.

8. The Southern of Illinois has webbed an Associated Press summary report on the deliberations, and the trial itself.

9. A day's-wrap-up article webbed by CTV News discusses the forfeiture part of the case. It says that all four defendants have agreed to the jury deciding the question. Conrad Black's assets are unlikely to be forefeited if the jury finds him not guilty of racketeering.

10. An end-of-day update of her earlier report by Ms. Maurino, as webbed by CBC News, adds the information that the jury will deliberate for a full day Thursday.

11. A more in-depth version of the above report has been webbed by Canada East. It describes what assets have already been impounded from Conrad Black, specifies that the forfeiture decision will come into play if Conrad is found guilty of racketeering and/or mail fraud, and also notes that the government is seeking an asset of Peter Atkinson's, too - hence Csr. Schachter stepping in.

----------

Mark Steyn's latest entry in his Maclean's Conrad Black trial blog mentions that the British reporters covering the trial have opened up a betting pool on the outcome. It also mentions that Conrad's daughter Alana just celebrated her twenty-fifth birthday today.

Douglas Bell is back on the trial beat in the Toronto Life Conrad Black trial blog. His latest post describes a full day of waiting during the deliberations, bringing forth the combination of boredom and anxiety among those waiting to be first with the news. (Evidently, this post was about yesterday's deliberations.)