NEW YORK -- The jurors asked for hundreds of pages of
testimony and documents, for guidance on a legal point, even for
Madison Square Garden's organizational chart.
But they reached no verdict in their first full day of
deliberations in a former top New York Knicks executive's sexual
harassment case against coach Isiah Thomas.
The panel was to resume its work Monday in a federal court in
Manhattan.
The jury, which started its deliberations late Thursday, asked
Friday for transcripts of testimony from Thomas and three other
men. Jurors also requested e-mails sent by the plaintiff, Anucha
Browne Sanders, to the president of MSG, which is also a defendant
in the 3-week-old trial.
The requested testimony included the words of two men who
participated in the internal MSG investigation of claims Browne
Sanders made against Thomas before she was fired in January 2006
from her job as vice president of marketing.
Jurors also asked for a copy of MSG's organization chart, but
the information wasn't given to them because it was not part of the
evidence at trial.
Later Friday, the jurors sent a note asking U.S. District Judge
Gerard E. Lynch whether they should assume MSG's conduct was
intentional if they concluded Browne Sanders was subjected to
severe and pervasive harassment.
In a written question, the seven jurors asked whether they
should assume it was intentional conduct if "the elements of the
claim ... have been met."
Kevin Todd Mintzer, a lawyer for Browne Sanders, could barely
contain his pleasure at the note when lawyers were asked to express
their views as to what the jurors should be told.
"It is our position that if they find all the elements of the
claim ... are met, the answer to the question on the verdict form
is yes," he said.
But lawyers for both sides insisted nothing could be read into
the jury's notes. Lynch cautioned the jurors to follow closely his
instructions on the law, rather than the verdict sheet's wording.
Browne Sanders testified that Thomas subjected her to a hostile
work environment by lacing conversations with profanities and
treating her harshly during his first year on the job, before
reversing tactics and smothering her with inappropriate sexual
advances in his second year.
Thomas testified that Browne Sanders made his job more difficult
and got in his way by trying to undermine his authority. He said he
always treated her with respect and never directed any profanities
at her.
Anne Vladeck, a lawyer for Browne Sanders, has asked the jury to
conclude she was sexually discriminated against and that damages
are owed.
Defense lawyers say Browne Sanders ruined her career with the
Knicks when she failed at several budget meetings after her
responsibilities over financial matters were increased in 2005, the
same year her pay rose to $260,000 a year.
Browne Sanders, a 44-year-old former Northwestern University
basketball star, seeks reinstatement to her job.