New questions about Ryan jurors

What did the Tribune know and when did they know it? Were they really doing the public a service? More Ryan trial jurors are revealed to have problems. This essentially puts the jurors on trial now. Who will ever want to serve? This raises real civil liberties questions. But we also want honest jurors with no axe to grind. It's a delicate balance.

There are now an amazing number of jurors who lied on their preliminary forms. Will they be charged with perjury? And the trial went on so long the jury was not well insulated from the media and the rest of the public.

The defense charges this. Sun Times story here, with profiles of the new questionable jurors:

After two more jurors were removed, Ryan's lawyers sought a mistrial. They argued that jurors believed the feds were investigating their backgrounds and it tainted their deliberations.

"It has now been widely reported on TV and in the newspapers that the U.S. attorney could potentially prosecute jurors for perjury for lying on their questionnaires," they wrote. Jurors would then vote in favor of the feds for fear of being prosecuted, the defense contended.

A disaster for the credibility of the courts.