HACKENSACK, N.J._As voters headed to the polls Tuesday to pick a replacement for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, jurors at the corruption trial of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez weighed a decision of their own, spending their first full day deliberating on a verdict.
There was one question _ but no verdict _ submitted by jurors to the U.S. District Court judge overseeing the case, William H. Walls, on a relatively uneventful day at the federal courthouse in Newark.
Around 3:30 p.m., Walls told attorneys that a juror had asked to see Abbe Lowell's closing argument "apropos the definition of a senator." Lowell is Menendez's lead defense attorney.
After conferring with both sides and noting that prosecutors and defense attorneys are not witnesses, Walls then called jurors into the courtroom and denied the request. "You should rely on your individual and collective memories of what was said by Mr. Lowell," he said.
The purpose of the question was not clear, but it may have been a reference to Lowell's argument Monday that Menendez's meetings with executive branch officials _ though they could have benefited his co-defendant Salomon Melgen _ did not meet the definition of "official acts" needed to prove bribery.
Lowell pointed out that Menendez could have introduced legislation to help Melgen in two separate business disputes but never did.
Alternatively, the question may have been a reference to a legal debate over whom Menendez represents as the senior Democratic senator from New Jersey.
Prosecutors have argued that Melgen, because he was from Florida, did not count as Menendez's constituent _ evidence, they said, that Menendez's advocacy for Melgen was motivated by a bribe.
But defense attorneys have said that the definition of a constituent extends beyond the Garden State to include "ethnic" and "issue" constituencies as well as political donors.
Jurors are scheduled to deliberate from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily until they unanimously decide on a verdict. Should the process continue beyond Thursday, one of the jurors with a long-scheduled vacation will be replaced by an alternate and deliberations will have to begin anew.
Menendez, a Democrat, stands accused of using his office to help co-defendant Melgen, a wealthy Florida eye doctor and a longtime friend, to secure visas for his foreign girlfriends and to intervene in a lucrative port security contract in the Dominican Republic and a multimillion-dollar Medicare dispute.
In exchange, Menendez allegedly took bribes in the form of luxury vacations, free flights on Melgen's private jets and more than $700,000 in political contributions.
Menendez, 63, has vigorously denied the charges, saying he will be vindicated at trial and run for re-election next year.
In total, Menendez faces six counts of bribery, three counts of honest services fraud, one count of conspiracy, one count of interstate travel to carry out bribery and one count of making false statements on his congressional financial disclosures to conceal the crimes.
Melgen, 63, faces the same charges except the false statements accusation.
The fraud charges carry the harshest potential penalties, of up to 20 years behind bars. The statutory maximum sentence on the bribery counts is 15 years in prison, with the other charges carrying a five-year maximum penalty.
The trial, which began Sept. 6, is now in its 10th week.
