The juror’s tall tale

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/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:”"; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} How about the juror in the criminal trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who was excused from final deliberations in Washington, D.C., to attend her father’s funeral in California — only to admit this week she really went there to see some horse racing! Marian Hinnant said she made up the story about her father to attend the Breeders’ Cup Oct. 24-25 in Santa Anita, for which she’d bought tickets in the spring. Judge Emmet Sullivan suspended deliberations after being told Hinnant’s father had died. When Hinnant didn’t respond to court officials’ attempts to contact her through the weekend, the 11 other jurors resumed work without her. They convicted Stevens of lying about work done on his vacation home by a state oil contractor. Apparently nothing will happen to Hinnant. After telling Sullivan the dead father story was a ruse, Hinnant reportedly wandered off into a wild, twisting tale about crime and the horse racing industry — evidently enough to convince the judge the best outcome would be for Hinnant to return to obscurity.

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