Four Things to Watch for After Jury Returns Verdict in John Wiley Price's Public Corruption Trial

When a federal jury wraps up its deliberations in the trial of John Wiley Price, there are several potential developments that bear watching in the public corruption case.1. For starters, if Price is convicted on any of the 11 counts, will U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn allow Price to stay out of prison on bail while appealing his conviction? Given the way this trial unfolded, particularly with the judge having to rebuke prosecutors for withholding evidence, that is a distinct possibility. Plus, there's a recent precedent for the judge to do that.Also keep in mind that Lynn already has said she's "99.9 percent" sure she will toss out the six counts of deprivation of honest services by mail. Lynn said the car payments Kathy Nealy made through the postal service on vehicles that were driven by Price appear "peripheral" to the bribery charge.2. Second, if there's a hung jury on the bribery and tax evasion charges, conventional wisdom suggests that the feds, who've spent years building the case against Price, would pursue a new trial against Price.But prosecutors' thinking could change drastically if Lynn lets the attorneys talk to jurors after a verdict is handed down. A post-trial chat with jurors would let prosecutors know just how close they were to winning.  Continue reading...