There was a secret court hearing in the Family Secrets case that was closed to the public.
The contents are under seal.
But the Chicago Sun-Times has learned it involved a juror in the case.
The hearing caused the trial to start late Thursday, just before 3 p.m. Court is supposed to start at 9:30 a.m.
So what was the issue?
It did not involve someone trying to tamper with the juror, according to people familiar with the situation.
It apparently involved some communication the juror made.
U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel, who by all accounts did an excellent job presiding over the trial, said he would unseal the matter after the trial is over.
Steve, Why don't your paper's lawyers insist the judge unseal it now?
STEVE WARMBIR RESPONDS: Frankly, in this matter, I don't expect it would do any good. And by the time we made a filing, and the judge heard the issue, the trial could be over anyway.