Navarro Gets Dramatic in the Bunkerville Courtroom

Navarro Gets Dramatic in the Bunkerville Courtroom

by Shari Dovale

Monday marked the first full day of jury deliberations in the first of three trials being held in Las Vegas.

6 men are on trial for their roles in the Bunkerville protest with Cliven Bundy in 2014.

After 5+ weeks of the government presenting their case with over 35 witnesses, the defense was not allowed to present the case they originally planned. They had attempted to call 30 witnesses, but Judge Navarro did not allow some of them, and most were threatened with prosecution if they testified. They ended with about 2 days for their case.

Eric Parker was the only defendant to testify, and that was due to his belief that it would be the only way Navarro would allow their side to be told.

The jury sent questions back to the court, which Judge Gloria Navarro promptly sealed from the public’s view. The public was, however, allowed to hear the court consider their responses to the jury. It was possible to get a general idea of what the questions involved.

It seems the jury had ‘hypothetical’ questions pertaining to the possibility of a hung jury. This means they do not have consensus on all of the 60+ charges the defendants are facing.

Judge Navarro was concerned enough that the jury was considering all of the possible implications that, at one point, she threw her arms wide, then bringing them slowly back together. She said that they need to guide the jurors back down to a more narrow point of view as they could be looking at sentencing implications, and other extremes.

Navarro still seems to be mostly concerned with the prospect of jury nullification.

The prosecutors also talked about the probability of a hung jury.

It would seem that the court, Navarro and the government prosecutors, are concerned the jurors are looking at more than the government’s case. There appear to be some jurors that do not agree with the court’s narrative.

The jurors continue their second day of deliberations Tuesday.