At the time the accusations were made, Judge Ito consulted prosecutors and defense lawyers, and then questioned the jurors to determine whether they had heard about a possible Florio-Bunten book deal.
According to court transcripts of those interviews, as word of the investigation spread among panelists, another juror, Farron Chavarria, passed a warning note to Ms. Florio-Bunten. Yet a third juror told the judge that she saw Ms. Florio-Bunten reading a newspaper on which Ms.
Chavarria had scribbled.
