Jury in Orange County judge's murder trial deliberates 4th day without verdict

The jury in the murder trial of Orange County Judge Jeffrey Ferguson resumed deliberations on Tuesday and requested a readback of transcripts.

On Monday afternoon, following three days of deliberations, the jury told Los Angeles County Judge Eleanor J. Hunter they had reached an impasse in their deliberations.

"How many times did you collectively vote regarding the charge of murder?" Hunter asked the foreperson.

"Several" was her response.

Hunter sent the jury home for the night and ordered them to return first thing Tuesday for more deliberations. By mid-morning, the court reporter was summoned to read back trial testimony to the jury. She continued to read back transcript to the jury for most of the day, emerging just before 3. The judge did not disclose what testimony the jury wanted to hear.

Around 4, they left for the day without reaching a verdict. Hunter told counsel that they had asked another question that she planned to address on Wednesday.

During the first two days of deliberations the jury asked two questions. The first was about the the elements required for an involuntary manslaughter charge. They wanted a definition of an unlawful act. Hunter defined an unlawful act as any act which wasn't lawful.

The second question was, 'Is conscious disregard for life enough to be guilty of murder?'

After consulting with the attorneys on the case, Hunter read aloud the relevant law to answer the jury's question before sending them back to deliberate.

Ferguson, 74, shot and killed his wife on Aug. 3, 2023, during a domestic dispute over money he gave to his grown son from a previous relationship. He is charged with one felony count of murder, along with sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a firearm causing death and the personal discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury and death.

During the trial, Ferguson testified that the gun went off accidentally as he was setting it on a coffee table, attributing the incident to shoulder pain caused by a medical disability.

But witnesses for the prosecution described a series of escalating events that began at a restaurant earlier in the evening when Ferguson made a gun gesture with his finger and thumb that upset his wife.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Seton B. Hunt pointed to Ferguson's heavy drinking that day, which began at lunch, and presented text messages that appeared confessional, including one to his court clerk that read: "I lost it. I shot her. I won't be in tomorrow. I'll be in custody."

John D. Barnett, a criminal defense lawyer in Tustin who often represents law enforcement in high profile criminal cases, said Tuesday afternoon that it is hard to know what has prevented the jury from coming to a conclusion.

"It is hard to predict how jurors look at cases like this because the defendant is not a public safety issue," Barnett said. "If you look at criminal cases in terms of how jurors approach them, one is: Is this defendant going to be a public safety problem and the answer is no."

"They're given the law and supposed to follow the law but they're human beings," Barnett said. "There's a lot of human emotions that go into deciding cases like this. These are hard, hard cases for 12 citizens to try to reach the right decision on."