Once again, the Luis Posada Carriles perjury trial was halted Tuesday after the judge learned that a juror had fallen ill.
While the general expectation was that the trial would resume Wednesday morning, an aide to U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone said he wasn’t sure if that would be the case.
It was the second time in as many days that the on-again, off-again trial has been suspended, and the fifth time since the case began Jan. 10. That day, the judge advised the jury that she hoped the trial would last no more than four to six weeks.
But her initial desire has collided with reality, now that the trial has entered its eighth week without any prospect of ending soon. It could well last into April, since the prosecution has not finished its case and the defense has yet to begin.
Because jurors have spent more than 10 days at trial, Cardone last week signed an order increasing the fees by $10 that federal jurors participating in the case receive to $50 daily.
The trial was interrupted Monday, after one of the three Posada lawyers advised the judge about a tragedy in the family and the need to leave El Paso for a few days. Previously, the trial had been suspended for more than a week while the judge decided whether to declare a mistrial. Her decision was to continue.
Arturo V. Hernandez, Posada’s lead lawyer, would not provide details on the matter but said the tragedy did not involve his family.
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