University Daily Kansan
Monday, February 20, 1978
By NANCY DRESSLER
Single juror causes Med Center mistrial
Staff Writer
KANSAS CITY, Kan--Almost three days of jury deliberation ended Friday with the declaration of a mistrial in a civil lab suit against a Kansas doctor at the university of Kansas Medical Center.
Leo J. Moroney, the Wyandotte County District Court judge who heard the case, declared the mistrial when jurors could not return a verdict. The jury was deadlocked
A new trial will be convened to decide the case.
Dante G. Scarpelli, a former pathology department chairman at the Med Center, brought the suit in 1975 against four former Center's medical staff and Center's former affirmative action officer.
THE FOUR students filed a written complaint in April 1974 charging that Scarpelli discriminated against black men. The libel suit was a result that compulsory.
The counts dropped from the suit were for invasion of privacy, malicious prosecution, conspiracy to violate the Civil Rights Act of 1975 and interference with a professional contract.
Summary and directed judgments reduced the original five counts in the suit to one count of libel. The single count asked $55,000 from each of the defendants.
Summary and directed judgments were made on those counts by Moroney, which means that there was not sufficient evidence to make a decision on them.
TWO NOTES from the jury preceded the mistrial declaration. The first was a note, signed by the jury foreman, Gary Dobson, that asked whether the jury should decide
the defendants' guilt on the basis of the complaint.
Tim Wiglesworth, a lawyer for the defendants, said the first note was incinereated.
In response to the note, Judge Moroney instructed the jurors to re-read his instructions, which asked them to decide which amounts complaint was labeled to Scarcelli.
The second note, which was unsigned,
alleged that a juror had perjured herself
during jury selection. The note asked
the judge to explain the difficulties to
the case if a verdict was returned.
Wiglewson said carpell's lawyer, Reid Wiglewson had asked that the jury try to reach a verdict.
MORONEY then declared the mistrial.
"It appeared further deliberations would be useless," Wiglesworth said.
Wiggswell said he talked to the juror who had supposedly perjured herself.
"She told me she had answered everything truthfully," he said. "The other jurors were pressuring her to go along with them."
Wiglesworth said the deadlocked vote in favor of Scorpell meant that 11 jurors thought the complaint filed by the students was improper.
No date has been set for a new trial. Holbrok said that a new trial could begin soon or that it could be delayed for several weeks.
"if we get the same judge, I suspect it will be just one count," he said.
The jury never got to the issues of whether the complaint was filed with malice, was libelous or had brought injury to Scarpelli, Wiglesworth said.
Wigwisher said he would file a motion within 10 days asking for a summary of the charges.
THE COMPLAINT had called for Scarpelli's resignation from the Med Center. A hearing was set at the Med Center to hear the students' complaint in May 1974 but no evidence ever was presented because the students walked out of the nursing before it began.
Holbrook said the case would reconvene automatically in another trial.
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Holbrook said that if a different judge heard the case, all five counts in the suit were guilty.
"THE DECISION was unfortunate for all parties," Holbrook said. "One person held the decision."
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ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY RESIDENCE HALLS announces GENERAL ELECTIONS FOR PRESIDENT and VICE-PRESIDENT
REQUIREMENTS:
1) Candidates must run as a team.
3) Candidates must plan to live in a residence hall next year.
For Petitions and Filing Forms you must attend a candidates meeting on February 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Joseph R. Pearson Hall.
2) Team members must be from different residence halls.
DEADLINE FOR FILING—Tuesday, February 28
ELECTIONS—Wed., March 8 and Thurs., March 9 5-6 p.m. in every residence hall cafeteria