by TChris

Manhattan Judge Jeffrey Atlas thought there was barely enough evidence to justify jury deliberations in a bribery prosecution of two union officials. But when he learned that the jurors weren't following the rules, he set aside their guilty verdict.

Jurors are instructed not to discuss the evidence until it's time to deliberate. They're also told not to read media accounts of the case. Judge Atlas wasn't happy when an alternate juror revealed that jurors disregarded both of those admonitions.

Atlas said he was troubled by numerous episodes of misconduct in the jury room while the trial was under way, including instances of jurors voicing opinions about the credibility of witnesses and sarcastic comments about the defendants. He also was troubled by the presence in the jury room of a Village Voice article about the trial.

The sarcastic comments included comparisons between the defendants and "The Sopranos." Defense attorney Dino Lombardi thinks some of the jurors had an anti-union bias that they failed to disclose during jury selection.

"You have these one-dimensional cartoonish impressions of trade union guys," Lombardi said of the juror bias.