BALTIMORE, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Five jurors who used Facebook during the trial of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon have been ordered to testify at a hearing on her motion for a new trial.
The evidentiary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 6, The Baltimore Sun reported. The newspaper said a court clerk confirmed Tuesday Circuit Judge Dennis Sweeney notified five jurors in letters delivered by sheriff's deputies that they must appear.
Dixon faced a number of charges but was convicted of only one, misdemeanor embezzlement. The jury found she used $500 in gift cards that had been donated for needy families.
The mayor's lawyers say there were so many errors she was "deprived of her right to a fair trial." In addition to the Facebook communications by some jurors, they allege two jurors lied during selection, one about a previous theft conviction and the other about having known the mayor and a witness years ago.
Dixon is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 21 and could be forced out of office then.
