Black Watch: Today’s Top Stories

This morning, word has it that Times man James Bone is offering even money that there will be a verdict today. This is based on a note sent from the jury at the end of yesterday’s deliberations, which suggested that there was a natural break in the proceedings and that they would sit from nine till two today, tidying up loose ends. It’s as good a theory as any. Yesterday, one nudnik among us announced that a particular juror, upon exiting the scene, looked as though “she’d been through hell.” This, in turn, led to much theorizing as to the jury’s state of mind, based on a perceived juxtaposition with happier exits earlier in the week. (Friction? Hung jury?) Broadly speaking, these are known as Elevator Theories, as the only time the assembled tribe actually sees the jury en masse is when they get on the elevator at the end of the day. There are, of course, other random sightings—some intentional, some not—each to a degree fraught with possibility. This morning, for instance, as I sat typing at the Intelligentsia coffee shop, I noted the arrival and departure of both Mr. and Mrs. Boultbee, and prosecutor Julie Ruder. Each knew the other was there and yet they passed with about as much outward notice as the intersecting orbits of Neptune and Pluto. What could it mean? Nothing, really, but there’s little else to hold anyone’s imagination in this particular production inspired by Beckett.

This morning’s press turns mostly on forfeiture and the prospect that, if found guilty, Black could lose his house in Florida, the proceeds from the sale of his New York apartment and Babs’ $2.6 million bauble. Regarding the Palm Beach pile, The Guardian notes for the record that, “an estate agent’s particulars described it as ‘situated on approximately 2.62 acres of lush, landscaped lawn with a rose garden and a herb garden’.”

Black risks forfeiting his Florida mansion [Guardian]Black’s lawyers aim to block mansion’s seizure [Globe and Mail]Trying to read the faces of jurors is a time-honoured tradition. Yesterday, their smiles were gone—whatever that means [Toronto Sun]Black jury asks to hear more tapes [National Post]Jurors seek Hollinger audio clips [Toronto Star]