Jury asked to keep deliberating

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

A southwest Ohio judge on Friday told jurors to keep trying after they said they have agreed on only one of nine charges in the felony trial of a suspended juvenile court judge.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Norbert Nadel also told them not to disclose their decision on the single count against Judge Tracie Hunter. It was sealed for the time being.

The jurors who began deliberating Wednesday afternoon will resume Tuesday. Monday is the Columbus Day holiday.

Jurors reported agreement on a count of unlawful interest in a public contract, involving Hunter’s brother’s employment.

Hunter’s attorney Clyde Bennett II said earlier that jurors have a lot of testimony, exhibits and arguments to weigh in a trial that began Sept. 8. But he told WCPO-TV that the prolonged wait for a verdict was “very stressful ... it’s nerve-wracking. It’s emotional.”

Hunter, 47, a Democrat, contends that she was the victim of political retribution after winning a lengthy legal battle over disputed 2010 election results. Special prosecutors appointed for her trial rejected that claim, and have described Hunter as contentious and manipulative.

The nine felony charges include evidence-tampering, forgery and theft in office. They stem from allegations that she backdated court documents, misused a county credit card, and improperly intervened in her brother’s employment. After her indictment in January, the Ohio Supreme Court disqualified Hunter from continuing to hear cases.