Kathy E <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: The judge in the Tawana Brawley slander trial is expected to make a new push for a settlement in the decade-old slugfest amid signs both sides may be willing to talk. Sources told The Post that Judge S. Barrett Hickman wants to open negotiations when he meets lawyers on Monday to discuss the future of the trial in the wake of a car accident that left an alternate juror critically injured. The juror, 51-year old Leslie Lail, was reported to be alert and talking at St. Francis Medical Center yesterday while recovering from a fractured skull. Officially, David Bookstaver, spokesman for the Office of Court Administration, says the trial is scheduled to resume Tuesday. But behind the scenes, there are concerns about whether other members of the close-knit jury panel - reportedly shaken by Thursday's accident - want to continue listening to the tense and often bewildering testimony that has dominated the trial, now in its sixth month. "The critical question is going to be the state of mind of the jurors and whether they want to continue," said Michael Hardy, lawyer for the Rev. Al Sharpton. Hickman is also under mounting pressure from superiors in Albany to put an end to the circus-like trial in which ex-Dutchess County prosecutor Steven Pagones is suing Tawana Brawley and advisers Sharpton, C. Vernon Mason and Alton Maddox for $395 million. Hickman tried once before, during Easter week, to promote settlement talks - only to be spurned by both sides. But with concerns about the jury's patience - amid expectations that the trial will extend into the summer - sources said both sides may be willing at least to explore the possibility of a settlement in order to avoid a mistrial. "If the jury says they've had it and the case falls apart at this time, I'll feel devastated," said Pagones, who has spent $250,000 on this trial. Pagones says it will take a lot for him to settle his suit against the Brawley advisers who accused him of kidnapping and raping Brawley 10 years ago. But an apology would seem unlikely - especially at this juncture, when Pagones is on the witness stand. Mason and Maddox are trying to settle a decade worth of bad blood and to try to prove that Pagones was Brawley's rapist. Sources close to the case said the key to any possible settlement is Sharpton, the civil-rights leader and former mayoral candidate, who is distancing himself from his co-defendants in this case. He is trying to prove that he was acting in "good faith" and was never trying to "harm" anyone when he called for Pagones' arrest. Hardy said his client will not agree to any language which forces him issue a formal apology or to admit he's a "liar," but hinted he might be willing to listen to other ways to settle. -- Kathy E "I can only please one person a day, today is NOT your day, and tomorrow isn't looking too good for you either" http://members.delphi.com/kathylaw/ Law & Issues Mailing List http://pw1.netcom.com/~kathye/rodeo.html - Cowboy Histories http://www.geocitiescom/CapitolHill/Lobby/2990/law.htm Crime photo's Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
