Long time lurker, first time poster.
A lot of this discourse has made me register so I can provide some meager insight on some of the questions people have made in regards to what happens during deliberations. I've been somewhat "glued" to this thing.
Several years ago I was a foreman for a murder trial. Although not a media circus and there were only 4 days of testimony, there are a few parallels that I experienced.
1) The jury instructions are paramount. They spell out exactly how to render your decision. In my case, there was no doubt who the killer was to anyone. The case was about whether there was intent. Without the jury instructions I wouldn't have convicted. But it spelled out the law very clearly and that is what we followed.
2) I didn't take a lot of notes. Granted, it was only a few days...so something that is six weeks I'd be more inclined to because it would be difficult to track everything.
3) If you need something, the judge will research prior case law before handing it over to you. (In our case it was a dictionary of all things)
4) In regards to the whole "smiling" fiasco...I did the same thing at one point in the trial. In fact, I almost laughed because of the way the prosecution dismantled and destroyed a defense argument in closing arguments. We were only human, yet seeing the grieving family sitting 10 feet away from you has an effect of "this isn't about you."
5) Had one juror that wouldn't agree. Right away most of us were on the same page, and yes, the first hour or two are basically just a cathartic yapping of everything. Kind of funny how during the trial, cliques will somewhat form within the jury.
6) Weird feeling marking a couple check boxes, signing your name, and knowing someone will "go away" for 40 years. But, testimony heard (and not heard, such as remorse) didn't cause me to lose a wink at night.
Long story short, don't read too much into how long things are taking. I find myself guilty of that as well. I was hoping for a shorter verdict but there might be one who is holding out that the other jurors are working on...and boy they do.
Also had to laugh at the lunch selection. Not much rhyme nor reason for lunch selections. We were fed quite well, which I felt was a little macabre given photos of the murder scene.
