Would You Take A Blood Test To Rule Out Food Poisoning If Your Sandwich Was Missing A Piece Of Avocado? Or Is That Just This Goldman Code Case Juror?
Remember last week, how the government's latest attempt to convict ex-Goldman programmer Sergey Aleynikov of stealing code from his former employer nearly ended in a mistrial because of a fight between two jurors over claims that one had somehow tampered with the other’s avocado and sandwich? Unfortunately, for Aleynikov, deliberations moved forward and he was found guilty. Fortunately for those wondering, "How does one tamper with an avocado and a sandwich?", a few more details have emerged. Apparently the mere absence of avocado set off alarms bells and it didn't end there.
The possible mistrial stemmed from a dispute between two jurors deciding Mr. Aleynikov’s fate; a female juror accused a male one of “food tampering,” in part because an avocado was missing from her sandwich. The female juror also said she took a blood test to determine whether she had been poisoned, temporarily turning the criminal proceedings into a culinary whodunit.
Mixed Verdicts in Second Trial of Aleynikov, Ex-Goldman Sachs Programmer [NYT via Matt Levine]