Action on Smoking and Health A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions    Search  | Info About  | ash.org| To Join |  Email Page

Excerpts from: Jury Discord Forces Mistrial

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS  Jury Discord Forces Mistrial  [01/25/01]

 A judge declared a mistrial Thursday in a high-stakes tobacco trial after being
warned that deliberations were so strained that one juror had threatened to kill another.

``I have an obligation to jurors to protect them,'' U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein said.

The last of three notes sent to Weinstein on the fifth day of deliberations read, ``Juror has made threat
against other juror to kill'' if they have to be ``here much longer.''

Juror Maggie Altidor -- one of two holdouts in a 10-2 deadlock favoring the tobacco industry -- told
reporters she wrote the third note after a male juror threatened that if deliberations lasted another day,
``one of us would be killed.''

Another juror, Aaron Barlow, downplayed the episode, claiming, ``It's not what was said.'' But he also
said that the jury had been deadlocked since last week, and tensions were mounting.

``Frankly, I think the whole case was a waste of time,'' said Barlow, who was with the majority.

A unanimous verdict was required.

The two-month trial pitted a trust representing asbestos workers -- many of them with lung cancer -- and
their heirs against R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris, Brown & Williamson and other cigarette makers.

The trust accused the companies of conspiring to mislead workers about a ``lethal synergy'' of cigarette
smoke and asbestos.

The trust has paid $1.4 billion in claims involving a bankrupt, one-time asbestos maker, Johns-Manville
Corp, as part of earlier settlement. The plaintiffs argue that the tobacco industry should be forced to ``pay
its fair share'' -- up to $135 million -- of the liability.

Trust attorney Ed Westbrook said he will seek a retrial.

``Obviously, we're disappointed, but we'll take another good run at the tobacco companies,'' he said.

The plaintiffs had predicted a verdict in their favor would improve chances for a far-reaching settlement
of similar lawsuits brought by insurers and other third parties that want the tobacco industry to share the
cost of treating patients with cigarette-related illnesses.

The defense said the case has no legal basis, noting that federal courts have ruled that third-party
plaintiffs are too remote to seek damages.

In closing arguments last week, Westbrook said internal memos and testimony by industry insiders proved
the defendants knew for decades that asbestos workers who smoked were five times more likely to get
lung disease than the average smoker.

The evidence also showed manufacturers conspired to hide the findings from the workers, he said.

``We're never going to know the full story, because the full story has been destroyed,'' Westbrook said.
``But what we do know tells a very, very sad story.''

During seven weeks of testimony, the jury also heard from several industry executives and researchers,
including whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand, whose story inspired the movie ``The Insider.''

Wigand testified that while head of research at Brown & Williamson in the early 1990s, company lawyers
censored any internal document that contradicted the industry's public ``mantra'' that cigarettes had not
been proven to cause cancer.