Jurors in the Craig Wright case are facing a tough call on deciding upon the final conclusion. However, the jury has asked them to take as much time as required and avoid a mistrial.
The civil lawsuit involving self-acclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto Craig Wright seems far-fetched as the jury shares its concerns that it ‘cannot come to a decision’. The case includes a legal battle between Craig Wright and the state of his now deceased friend David Kleiman.
The case involves the claim on Satoshi Nakamoto‘s Bitcoin wallet. The wallet holds more than 1.1 million Bitcoins worth a staggering $62 billion. Now, if the jury fails to come to a conclusion for a very long time, it could potentially lead to a mistrial.
During its fourth week of the courtroom, the federal jury expressed the concern that it couldn’t come to a verdict. “Unfortunately, we cannot come to a conclusion and we cannot all agree on a verdict on any of the questions,” said Judge Beth Bloom.
The deliberation of this case started back in 2018. Since then Craig Wright has been claiming that he used the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto for inventing Bitcoin. However, the estate of David Kleiman claimed that Wright was not the sole inventor. The estate claims that David and Wright were partners in inventing and mining Bitcoin.
Bloom conducted several discussions between the judge and opposing attorneys. Based on it, Bloom concluded that the case merited a reading of Florida’s “Allen Charge” for a deadlocked jury. Calling the jurors to the courtroom, Bloom added:
“The trial has been expensive in time, effort, money and emotional strain for both plaintiff and defendant. If you fail to agree on a verdict, the case remains open and may have to be tried again … There is no reason to believe either side could try it better or more exhaustively.”
Jurors Can Take Additional Time for Wright Lawsuit
Although the federal jury is facing indecision at this point, Judge Beth Bloom issued the Allen Charge asking the jury to continue deliberating until it reaches a verdict. Bloom further added, “I suggest that you now carefully reexamine and reconsider all the evidence in light of the court’s instructions on the law.”
However, if the jurors continue to insist that they cannot reach a verdict, it could lead to a potential mistrial. During the recent courtroom, defense attorney Andres Rivero said, “It isn’t over ‘til it’s over”. Similarly, defense attorney Jorge A. Mestre added, “They’re seeing the merit in our case”.
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