Dixon jury rejects all but one count of misappropriation

Posted: 9:00 pm Tue, December 1, 2009
By Brendan Kearney
Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer

It was a day on which the city’s chief executive became its newest convict.

Tuesday afternoon, after five days of testimony and seven days of jury deliberations, Mayor Sheila A. Dixon was found guilty of one misdemeanor count of misappropriating gift cards donated by a developer for city children during the holidays.

Dixon, who turns 56 this month, was cleared of three other counts, and the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a final count.

The result elicited a variety of reactions: Dixon’s family and staff sat in stunned silence after the verdict was read; lawyer observers speculated about the legal maneuvering during trial and what was still to come; and outside the courthouse the mayor’s supporters still shouted her praises.

For State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh, who faced criticism for pursuing the investigation three-and-a-half years ago after federal and local prosecutors turned the case down, the result is vindication. But he kept that well hidden Tuesday, saying simply that he is “personally satisfied.”

“It’s a sad day for Baltimore, but I think the jury did the right thing,” he said.

Dixon attorney Arnold M. Weiner, a veteran defender of politicians accused of wrongdoing such as former Gov. Marvin Mandel, stood next to the mayor on the sidewalk outside the courthouse after the verdict, holding her with his left arm. The showman litigator, who brought the courtroom audience to laughter and applause during his closing argument two weeks ago, spoke slowly, almost tentatively.

“Needless to say, we are disappointed that, despite the jury’s acquittal on three of the charges, the jury found the mayor guilty of a fourth charge,” Weiner said, adding that “we are certain to file post-trial motions.”

A spokesman for City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who would replace Dixon, did not return calls for comment Tuesday afternoon. On his Facebook page, Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., who Dixon defeated in the Democratic mayoral primary two years ago, wrote the conviction should not “diminish” Dixon’s career but will bring “growing pains” for the city.

Dixon faces a prison term of 1 to 5 years, according to state law, but some observers believe her sentence could stop short of prison time. There is no mandatory minimum, and Rohrbaugh would not say what sentence he would request.

Dixon is also facing perjury charges stemming from expensive gifts she received as City Council president from her then-boyfriend, developer Ronald H. Lipscomb, but did not report on her financial disclosure forms filed with the Baltimore City Ethics Board. That case is on appeal but is slated for trial next year.

Quiet in the courtroom

The jury, which deliberated more than 40 hours over the course of three calendar weeks, had tantalized onlookers since they got the case on the afternoon of Nov. 19 by sending out dozens of notes, which ranged from requests for a smoke break to requests for testimony transcripts and legal guidance.

Just after noon on Tuesday, the nine women and three men, a group said to reflect the racial makeup of the city, announced through their forewoman that they had reached a partial verdict. Courtroom 234 filled with City Hall employees, reporters, passerby lawyers and courthouse employees.

Dixon, wearing a dark pinstriped pant suit and her hair pulled back tight in a clasp, stood upright and looked straight ahead as the court clerk questioned Juror No. 4, a heavyset black woman with short hair, about the jury’s findings as to counts 1, 3, 4 and 7.

After saying Dixon was “not guilty” of stealing more than $500 worth of gift cards from developer Patrick Turner, the forewoman’s response to the clerk’s second question about the charge of misappropriation by a fiduciary thudded in the courtroom.

“Guilty,” she said.

Dixon was cleared of the remaining theft and misconduct in office charges, after which the jury was polled. They all nodded their heads or said yes when asked if the jury’s decision was also theirs individually. The judge declared a mistrial, by consent of the parties, as to the final count.

Rohrbaugh said he would decide by the end of the week whether to retry Dixon on that count.

Discharging the jurors, Sweeney thanked them “from the bottom of our hearts” for their “extraordinary effort in this case.”

He did not set a date for sentencing or impose conditions upon her freedom in the meantime.

There was hardly any immediate discernable reaction to the verdict, but as Judge Sweeney administered the last bits of the proceedings, emotions began to emerge.

First Deputy Mayor Andrew Frank rubbed his forehead with his fingers, and Salima Siler Marriott, another deputy mayor, bowed her head onto her hand. Both declined to comment as they made their way back to City Hall.

Jurors speak

Two jurors, No. 3 and No. 11, both young women who had sent notes to the judge during the course of deliberations — and both of whom said they had voted for Dixon for mayor — greeted the crowd of reporters and cameras after the verdict.

“I personally believed that you do the crime, you pay the time,” said Juror No. 3, who would only give her first name, Shawana. The 23-year-old would not give her occupation.

She said convincing certain jurors to not let their personal feelings about the mayor shade the evidence against her was a turning point. She did not believe race was a factor in the jury’s decision.

Those who didn’t testify in the trial — Dixon and her former boyfriend, Ronald H. Lipscomb, a developer — were perhaps as important as those who did testify, among them developer Pat Turner, current Dixon boyfriend Edward Anthony and many City Hall staffers.

“I did not want to hear from her. It would’ve made the case more difficult,” Shawana said of Dixon’s silence. “I did want to hear from Mr. Lipscomb.”

Juror No. 11, Elaine Pollack, said jurors were able to reach a decision once they realized they did not have to be unanimous as to all counts. Pollack, 29, said she was “happy” with the conclusion.

“It was hell,” she said. “I don’t want to do jury duty again.”

Juror No. 10, an art teacher at Chinquapin Middle School and the only white man on the jury, declined to comment.

A hearing during which Judge Sweeney will consider releasing the rest of the jurors’ information is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday In a note to the judge Tuesday, many jurors said they did not want their personal information released.

Daily Record writers Danny Jacobs and Robbie Whelan contributed to this article.