Formenton’s defence team denies juror’s claim
While the court is on break, let’s go back to that claim that the defence team for Alex Formenton was making fun of several jurors’ physical appearances for a moment.
Both lawyers have emphatically denied they made any such comments.
Daniel Brown and Hilary Dudding released a rare statement about the allegations right after the judge dismissed the jury this morning.
“In short, a juror came to somehow believe that our courtroom demeanour was disrespectful of her. This was an unfortunate misinterpretation,” the pair said.
“No defence counsel would risk alienating a juror, and nothing could be further from the truth in this instance. While it is true that co-counsel will speak with one another from time to time during a trial, this is commonplace. The very idea of counsel making light of a juror is illogical and runs directly counter to our purpose and function,” they continued.
During yesterday’s discussions about how to move ahead with the trial, Brown also expressed that the allegation would be sure to have a “chilling effect” on the defence teams’ ability to effectively interact with the jury.
