District judge declares a mistrial in New Jersey Senator’s corruption trial News
District judge declares a mistrial in New Jersey Senator’s corruption trial

A US District judge declared a mistrial in New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez’s [official profile] federal corruption trial on Thursday after questioning the 12 jurors. Following several hours of deliberation, the jury announced that they were “hopelessly deadlocked” [Reuters report] in a note [WP report] sent before noon that read: “We cannot reach a unanimous decision. Nor are we willing to move away from our convictions.” The three-year investigation into Menendez was helmed by the Justice Department (DOJ) [official website] and resulted in corruption and bribery charges [JURIST report] being brought against him last April.

The senator has allegedly [CNN report] accepted more than $600,000 worth of political contributions, a luxury hotel suite in Paris and free flights on a private jet in exchange for political favor. Ed Norris, a juror, said that there wasn’t any incriminating evidence against Menendez aside from the emails [WP report] he exchanged with his long-time friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen.

Federal prosecutors can still retry Menendez next year but the prosecutors will first have to deal with a decision [SCOTUSBlog materials] from the Supreme Court [official website] that will make it harder to prosecute [LA Times report] officials who take bribes.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

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On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.