The panel of 12 worked nearly 11 hours since closing arguments Thursday without reaching a verdict, a fact that might offer encouragement to the lawyers for Jackson’s mother and three children.
A “no” decision on the first of 16 questions on their verdict form — Did AEG Live hire Dr. Conrad Murray — would have immediately ended the trial without a need to consider the remaining 15 questions that concern negligence and damages.
If they’ve already completed work on the first question in nearly 11 hours of deliberations, it would represent a major hurdle for the Jacksons’ case in the five-month-long wrongful death trial.
Source: CNN