US News

‘HOLDOUT’ GRANNY HANDED BIG HELP TO THE DEFENSE

The “OK juror” suspected of stubbornly holding out for an acquittal in the Tyco trial – and sending sly hand signals to the defendant – is a grandmother with a passionate interest in justice and the legal system.

At the voir dire pretrial questioning of the jury, Juror No. 4, Ruth Jordan, explained how her passion had led her to law school at the age of 54.

By then, she said, she had raised a family and retired from a teaching career. She said she passed the bar at age 58.

“All my friends are lawyers, my husband was a lawyer, [and] I think I wanted to be a lawyer,” Jordan said. “So I went to law school.”

Jordan practiced law for two years before retiring, but never handled criminal law.

The retired teacher, now in her 60s, stands out in a jury dominated by younger men in their 20s and 30s.

She told the voir dire hearing she had never heard of Dennis Kozlowski’s Tyco firm – only the toy company of the same name.

The apparent holdout, who said she liked to paint and swim, threw the trial into a tailspin when she gave the “OK” signal to the defense team, making a circle with her forefinger and thumb.

Legal experts said the hand signal was highly unorthodox but didn’t necessarily imply misconduct.

Trial observers said the bridge-playing granny was in the jury room when the atmosphere became “poisonous,” with finger-pointing and heated exchanges between angry jurors.

According to a note sent to the judge, Jordan “stopped deliberating in good faith” and believed she was being “persecuted.”