On Monday, Judge John Tuchi declared a mistrial in the Arizona Corporation Commission bribery case involving former Commissioner Gary Pierce, his wife Sherry, lobbyist Jim Norton, and water company owner George Johnson.
The jurors told Judge Tuchi they were “hopelessly deadlocked.”
Judge Tuchi declined to send the jury back to deliberations.
Pierce was accused of accepting a bribe from Johnson in exchange for his vote on two issues.
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Federal prosecutors have until August 13 to decide whether to try again.
According to KJZZ, “One issue that may affect that decision is what the jurors were thinking when they finally gave up. Tuchi said he will ask them — in private — if they are willing to share with him what was the vote tally on each of the charges for each of the defendants. The judge told the attorneys for both sides he will share any information he gets with them to help them decide what to do next.”