Jurors in former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio’s criminal insider trading case were dismissed this afternoon after completing their fourth day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.
The jury of eight men and four women was ordered to reconvene tomorrow at 8:45 a.m.
“Be careful not to discuss this case with anyone,” Judge Edward Nottingham told jurors. “Go home. Have a pleasant evening, relax, have a drink, if you’re so inclined. Or two or three if you’re so inclined.”
Shortly after reconvening this morning for their fourth day of deliberations, the jury sent a note to Nottingham asking for a “precise definition of material information.”
Nottingham told them he couldn’t just read a part of the instructions to them because it would put unfair emphasis on that portion of the instructions. Instead he offered to reread instructions in their entirety.
The jury accepted the offer and spent roughly an hour listening to the instructions before resuming deliberations.
The portion of the jury instructions that define materiality state:
“In order for you to find a “material” fact or a “material” omission, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the fact misstated or the fact omitted was of such importance that it could reasonably be expected to cause or induce a person to act or to cause or to induce a person not to act with respect to the securities transaction at issue.
“Information may be material even if it relates not to past events but to forecasts and forward-looking statements, so long as a reasonable investor would consider it important in deciding to act or not to act with respect to the securities transaction at issue.”
Meanwhile, the parties in the case, including Nacchio, have remained in the courtroom, awaiting the jury’s decision.
Nacchio, 57, faces 42 counts of illegal insider trading connected to his sale of $100.8 million in Qwest stock during the first five months of 2001. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The government is also seeking a forfeiture of his stock-sale proceeds.
