December 18, 2009
Teacher Sex Trial Ended by Juror Misconduct (See Video)
SAN DIEGO -- A judge, citing juror misconduct, declared a mistrial Tuesday in the case of a former fifth-grade teacher accused of molesting two boys once in her class. Adrienne Feistel, 36, will be retried next year, Judge Richard Whitney said. If convicted of all charges, she could face 30 years and eight months in prison. After deliberating for parts of four days, jurors passed a note to the judge indicating they were deadlocked on 14 of 17 charges against the defendant. The jury had reached verdicts on three counts, which were sealed as deliberations continued. Today, the judge revealed that one juror had watched media coverage of the case, in violations of orders from the court, and told other jurors. A number of jurors also complained that a fellow panelist told them that she would decide the case by her heart, no matter what the evidence showed.Click Here For The Full Story......