By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The jury in U.S. lawyer Michael Avenatti’s fraud trial on Friday asked the judge overseeing the case to “please help us” deal with one member of the 12-person panel they said was refusing to deliberate based on the evidence in the case.
Prosecutors say Avenatti, 50, embezzled nearly $300,000 in book proceeds intended for his former client, the porn star Stormy Daniels. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and identity theft.
“We have one juror who is refusing to look at evidence and is acting on a feeling,” the jury said in a note to U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman. “She does not believe she needs to prove her side using evidence and refuses to show us how she has come to her conclusion…please help us move forward.”
It was not clear whether the juror in question was leaning toward convicting or acquitting Avenatti.
The jury began deliberating on Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan federal court, and on Thursday said it was struggling to reach consensus.
Avenatti, who is representing himself in the case, requested a mistrial after Furman read the note in open court without the jury present. Prosecutors asked Furman to inquire as to the juror’s identity, evaluate the situation, and potentially dismiss the juror.
Furman instructed the jury to continue deliberating, reminding them that their verdict must be based on the evidence, or lack thereof, presented at trial, and that they should not be “swayed by sympathy or emotion.”
Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, is known for receiving $130,000 in hush money from then-U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, in exchange for keeping quiet ahead of the 2016 election about sexual encounters she says she had with Trump, who denies they took place.
Avenatti successfully represented Daniels, 42, in her lawsuit against Trump to free herself from a non-disclosure agreement. He has downplayed the charges against him by arguing the dispute amounts to a disagreement over legal fees and has no place in criminal court.
He could be sentenced to up to 22 years in prison if convicted on the charges related to Daniels, which are among a slew of accusations that have ended Avenatti’s career as a lawyer.
Avenatti is appealing a conviction and a 2-1/2-year prison sentence for extorting Nike Inc, and faces dozens of charges in California that he cheated other clients and committed bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud and tax fraud.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Alistair Bell)
