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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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time
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070389
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07038900.006
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1990-09-22
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NATION, Page 23American NotesIRAN-CONTRAJuror on Trial
Throughout the trial of former National Security Council aide
Oliver North, the jury was the focus as often as the defendant. The
jurors, all working-class blacks, became the butt of jokes because
of their acknowledged ignorance about the Iran-contra affair. Last
week one jury member was back in the news, seven weeks after voting
to convict North of obstructing Congress, unlawfully destroying
Government documents and accepting an illegal gift. A defense
allegation of misconduct by a juror persuaded U.S. District Court
Judge Gerhard Gesell to postpone North's sentencing until July 5.
Juror Tara Leigh King, 34, a photocopier operator, admitted
having used marijuana and crack but said she stopped four months
before the trial began. The defense argues that the possibility
that she might have been under the influence of narcotics during
the trial called into question the fairness of the proceedings.
North's lawyers also claimed that King failed to disclose during
jury selection that members of her family had arrest records,
including an armed-robbery conviction of a brother. Gesell will
hold a hearing this week, but the defense tactics are likely to win
North only a short respite before he receives his sentence.