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Juror wants new trial for convicted man

The Clearwater woman describes her frustration with a Pinellas County judge who never took action after she notified him of a sleeping juror.

By CHRIS TISCH
Published June 15, 2005

LARGO - Brenda Sanders took her duty seriously as a juror in a St. Petersburg murder case this spring.

When she noticed another juror appeared to doze during testimony, she tore off the back page of her juror handbook and wrote a note to Judge Brandt Downey.

But Downey didn't tell any of the lawyers trying the case about the note and allowed the sleepy juror to continue hearing the case. The jury convicted Woodrow Wilson of manslaughter.

Wilson is now seeking a new trial because of the sleeping allegations. Sanders told the St. Petersburg Times this week that Wilson deserves one.

"I hope that Woodrow Wilson gets a new trial," said Sanders, 37. "I think it's terrible. There's a juror that's pointing something out and nothing is being done about it."

Wilson, 66, was charged with murder after a fight with Frank Scott, 49, on New Year's Eve 2002. Wilson shot Scott, 49, outside a St. Petersburg motorcycle club. His case reached trial in April.

Sanders was part of the jury of four women and two men. Two women were alternates.

Wilson's attorney said in opening statements that Wilson felt threatened by Scott when he shot him. Prosecutors said Scott was unarmed at the time.

Sanders said she almost immediately noticed juror Timothy Barton sleeping during opening statements. Barton's head was tilted forward and down. His eyes were closed.

Sanders said he would stay in that position for five minutes or more, then suddenly jerk awake. At one point another juror nudged Barton, presumably to wake him up.

During a break in the jury room, Barton said he was tired and "falling asleep" during testimony, Sanders said.

Sanders, an accounts receivable manager who lives in Clearwater, said the apparent sleeping was bugging her. She said it continued during the whole trial.

"He was laughing about it," she said. "I was appalled."

Sanders said she believes in everyone's right to a fair trial. And she's no bleeding-heart for defendants, either. Her mother was murdered in Pinellas County in 1989. The man who killed her was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

"If you've been chosen for this jury, the man's livelihood is in your hands and you need to listen," Sanders said.

Before testimony began on the next morning, Sanders ripped out a piece of paper from the back page of her juror's handbook and wrote a note that Barton had been sleeping. She also wrote about the right to a fair trial.

Sanders handed the note to a bailiff who was leading them to the jury room. That bailiff gave the note to a second bailiff, who then gave the note to Downey in his chambers.

Downey could have questioned Barton about his alertness or replaced him with an alternate. He could have mentioned the note to the attorneys trying the case, but didn't.

Neither the prosecutor nor defense attorney apparently saw Barton sleeping. Prosecutor Thane Covert later said he saw Barton close his eyes, but thought he was thinking.

But Sanders has no doubt Barton dozed, even when Wilson took the stand in his own defense.

After three days and 18 witnesses, the alternates were dismissed. The jury deliberated about two hours before settling on a manslaughter conviction.

Sanders said jurors agreed Wilson felt threatened by Scott, but felt he deserved some punishment. She said Barton was not very involved in the discussion.

Jurors weren't allowed to know that Wilson had a previous murder conviction from the 1950s. They also didn't know what kind of sentence he faced. Downey gave him 18 years in prison; Sanders thinks Wilson deserved about seven years.

Some audience members also told Wilson's defense attorney, Christopher Yeazell, after the trial that they saw Barton sleeping. Yeazell asked Downey for a new trial before sentencing, but Downey said no.

According to a court transcript, Downey acknowledged seeing Barton close his eyes and "tipping his head back" multiple times as the judge read the jury instructions.

"I cannot say with any certainty that this in any way detracted from his ability to adequately deliberate this case," Downey said.

Downey also acknowledged that people in the audience may have seen Barton's eyes closed.

"I'm just saying that I don't think that their testimony in and of itself or the testimony of anybody else who was present could say that this gentleman's not paying 100 percent attention all the time in any way was prejudicial to the outcome of this trial or prejudicial to the rights of Mr. Wilson," Downey said.

Yeazell then filed affidavits from seven audience members who claimed to see Barton sleeping.

Covert, the prosecutor, began looking into the issue, too, and contacted the bailiffs who worked in Downey's courtroom. They told him about the note. He then called Pinellas-Pasco Public Defender Bob Dillinger, who has taken over the case, and told him what the bailiffs said.

Dillinger interviewed the bailiffs Friday. He filed a motion Wednesday asking Downey to disqualify himself from the case.

Downey declined to comment Wednesday, saying it would be improper for him to discuss the case while it's in progress.

A hearing in which Dillinger will seek a new trial has been set for June 24.

Barton told the St. Petersburg Times last month that he doesn't think he fell asleep during testimony.

"I'm not going to say that it didn't happen, but what I am going to say is I heard all the necessary information," said Barton, a 67-year-old landscaper.

He acknowledged being sleepy and said he often closed his eyes, but was merely thinking.

Sanders doesn't buy it. She wishes Downey had acted on her note.

"It could have been fixed," she said.

[Last modified June 15, 2005, 19:31:22]