Rod Blagojevich Jury In 7th Day Of Deliberations…With 11 Women

Many theories abound….

Statistically, it shouldn’t have happened this way.

Yet somehow, the jury deciding Rod Blagojevich’s fate is more than 90 percent female.

From more than 100 jurors questioned, 11 women and just one man are tackling 20 counts remaining against Blagojevich, charged with fraud, extortion and corruption.

Is that a good thing for the former governor?

Yes, according to a lawyer involved in Blagojevich’s first trial.

“I told Shelly [Sorosky, defense attorney], ‘Knock every man off,’” said Michael Ettinger, the former attorney for Robert Blagojevich, Rod’s brother, campaign fund manager and codefendant before prosecutors dropped charges against him last year. “If I was picking the jury, I’d have excused every man I could.”

Though gender alone won’t decide a case, jury consultant Howard Varinsky said women might be preferable for a defense team because, in his experience, they are more concerned with fairness.

“Men just say, ‘To hell with them,’” said Varinsky, who consulted on the trials of Timothy McVeigh and Martha Stewart, among others. “Guys are just quicker to condemn.”

Men “are jealous of other men” and would tend to feel more competitive with the ex-governor, Ettinger argued, particularly someone such as Blagojevich who was once politically successful.

“I just think women pay more attention to cases and situations than men,” he said. “Men wanna go home and drink beer. Men don’t like Rod.”