A First Circuit Court judge Wednesday released a prospective juror who was jailed overnight for shouting “He is guilty! He is guilty!” in the presence of his fellow would-be jurors.
Judge Edward Kubo on Tuesday had declared a mistrial and dismissed all 44 potential jurors, saying the “blatant and willful disturbance” by Jacob Maldonado had “infected” the whole panel. Kubo charged Maldonado with contempt of court and ordered him held on a $10,000 cash-only bail.
At a hearing Wednesday morning, Maldonado apologized to Kubo for his outbreak. “I wasn’t thinking right that day. I didn’t mean for it to go this far.”
A potential juror was jailed on contempt of court charges for an outburst at the First Circuit Court, pictured above.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Jason Burks, Maldonado’s court-appointed attorney, said his client was under “extreme hardship” because his father had been diagnosed with prostate cancer two days earlier and his wife was at the doctor being tested to determine whether she had cancer.
“Instead of being with her, he obeyed his summons and came to court. At the point he was making his comments he wasn’t trying to taint the jury, he wasn’t trying to poison everybody, I don’t think he really thought (about) the consequences of what his comments were in the long-run,” said Burks. “He was trying to get out of jury duty.”
First Circuit Court Judge Edward Kubo
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