Murphy, Tabish lawyers to get jurors’ documents

Kim Smith

Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2000 | 10:54 a.m.

Defense attorneys in the Ted Binion murder case want a new trial because of alleged juror misconduct, and the documents they hope will prove it were saved from possible destruction Tuesday.

Attorneys Bill Terry and John Momot were successful in convincing District Judge Joseph Bonaventure to issue an order preserving all documents used by the jurors during deliberations.

Among the documents the defense attorneys wanted preserved were those created by court officials and jurors on computers or Palm Pilots, small hand-held computers.

Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy were convicted in May. The jury recommended a sentence of 20 years to life in prison for the September 1998 death of gambling figure Ted Binion.

Last week, Terry, who is Tabish's attorney, filed a 69-page motion for a new trial. Among other things, Terry alleged that the jurors relied upon documents not placed in evidence during their deliberations.

Terry said jurors relied upon a "confusing" unofficial summary of instructions and a timeline written by jury foreman Arthur Spear Jr.

Bonaventure is expected to decide Friday if an evidentiary hearing should be held to discuss the defense's beliefs. If one is held, the jurors will be subpoenaed and required to bring any documents they still have in their possession along with the notes they took during the trial.

It is not clear at this point if the handwritten notes will become an issue.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger told Bonaventure he believes no one has the right to read jurors' notebooks because the thought processes of jurors and the reasons why a juror voted a particular way are protected by law.

Terry said that at this point, he just wants to make sure all documents are preserved.

Bonaventure agreed with Roger that jurors should be afforded some privacy, but he left the issue of the notebooks open for discussion on Friday.

Bonaventure collected all of the documents his staff had provided to, or received from, jurors during Tuesday's hearing. He then ordered all other documents preserved.

The judge also told the attorneys that he has ordered a county computer expert to look at a juror's Palm Pilot and download only those items that pertain to the Binion trial.

Bonaventure said the juror's employer, Bechtel Nevada, is concerned that information provided to their employee through the Palm Pilot might become part of the case's record.

Bechtel Nevada is the prime management contractor for the Nevada Test Site and is bidding on the construction of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump.