Sometimes the thought of a jury of one’s peers is kind of scary.

Black jury deadlocked
By Ameet Sachdev
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 10, 2007, 2:54 PM CDT

A Chicago federal jury weighing fraud charges against former Sun-Times publisher Conrad Black said today it was deadlocked.

‘We have discussed and deliberated on all the evidence and are still unable to reach a unanimous verdict on one or more counts. Please advise,’ jurors wrote in a note to the U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve this afternoon.

In court, St. Eve responded by rereading a portion of the jury instructions which advised the panel to act in good faith and attempt to reach a verdict before sending the 9 women and 3 men back to the jury room to continue deliberations.

Tuesday was the ninth day of jury deliberations. The trial began March 20.

It is unclear if the jury has reached a conclusion on any of the 42 charges and four defendants before them.

Black faces 13 criminal charges, including racketeering and mail and wire fraud, tied to accusations that he and associated pocketed more than $60 million from non-compete agreements signed when his company Hollinger International Inc. sold several newspapers. If convicted, the 62-year-old member of the British House of Lords could spend the rest of his life in prison and forfeit much of his fortune.

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