Fire Trial Judge To Jurors: Keep Working
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The judge in the Black Sunday trial has told the jury to keep working in the second trial revolving around a deadly fire in the Bronx.
Before they recessed Tuesday, the jury passed two notes to the judge saying they were at a standstill.
They're deciding the fate of the landlord and owner of the building where firefighters Curtis Meyran and John Bellew died in 2005.
Prosecutors say the landlord and owner should have known that tenants illegally built partitions in their apartment, which they say trapped the firefighters and led them to jump from the building.
The landlord and owner are charged with manslaughter, among other charges.
One lawyer not involved in this case says even when juries say they can't come to a decision, they usually do.
"I must've tried in my career about 300 cases and maybe 50 to 100 of them, the juries said they were deadlocked and ultimately reached a verdict anyway. So I don't get that affected when they say they're deadlocked. A lot of times they say that and reach a verdict anyway," said Defense Attorney David Goldstein.
Last week, a different jury acquitted the tenants of all charges including manslaughter.
Before proceedings got underway Tuesday, the judge went juror-by-juror to make sure they hadn't heard what the verdict was in the other case.