by TChris

Jurors deciding whether to convict former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski and CFO Mark Swartz have been working hard. Jurors have twice asked the judge to define "criminal intent." In its second request, made on Tuesday, the jurors asked the judge to "go slowly" in explaining the concept.

Over objection of prosecutors, the court declined to give a more specific definition of "intent," telling the jury only that it refers to a state of mind. The judge told prosecutors that he was only following the law. "I know you're not crazy about it," said Judge Michael Obus, "but we just work here."

The key instruction appears to be: "A defendant is not guilty of larceny if he believes he had the authority to take the property." Jurors on Wednesday asked to have testimony read back that goes to whether Tyco's board of directors knew of and approved all of the compensation that the officers received.

By yesterday, the sixth day of deliberations, it was becoming apparent that jurors were in disagreement. Jurors sent the judge a note saying that the "atmosphere in the jury room has turned poisonous." Another note complained that one of the jurors had "stopped deliberating in good faith," suggesting that jurors may be deadlocked in an 11-1 vote.

The defendants moved for a mistrial, but the judge denied that motion this morning. The judge agreed that the note complaining of a "poisonous atmosphere" and "incendiary accusations" did not constitute "the best note we ever got" from a jury, but denied the mistrial motions because he didn't believe the jury was hopelessly deadlocked.

Update: Although jurors today reported that their deliberations were "irreparably compromised" by infighting, the court sent the jury home for the weekend, again declining to grant a mistrial. Interestingly, one of the jurors apparently made an "OK" sign while walking past the lawyers. Whether the "OK" was intended for the prosecution or defense is unclear.