Positive covid test causes snag in ex-senator Baker’s trial

Former state Sen. Gilbert Baker is shown speaking to reporters in this file photo.
Former state Sen. Gilbert Baker is shown speaking to reporters in this file photo.

The bribery trial of former state senator Gilbert Baker hit a snag first thing Monday morning following an announcement by Chief U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall that a juror had tested positive for covid-19 over the weekend and had been excused.

After the remaining jurors and alternates were individually polled — each one said they could continue without distraction — Marshall elected to continue with the trial.

Baker, 66, of Conway, is a former political fundraiser, a past chairman of the state Republican Party and a former executive and music teacher at the University of Central Arkansas. His trial on accusations that he was the middleman in an effort to bribe former Faulkner County Circuit Judge Michael Maggio is expected to last three weeks.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Peters said during opening statements Monday morning that the government would prove Baker funneled bribes to Maggio to reduce a $5 million wrongful death award to $1 million in 2013 when Maggio was running for a seat on the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

Defense attorney Annie Depper of Little Rock told jurors that no direct evidence exists of a bribe because there was no bribe. Depper said all the contributions Baker raised were legitimate campaign contributions.

In July 2013, Maggio lowered a $5.2 million jury verdict against the owner of Greenbrier Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to $1 million. His action occurred July 10, the day after 10 $3,000 checks written by the nursing home’s owner, Michael Morton, arrived at the home of Baker, a friend and political ally of Maggio. The checks were made out to political action committees that were primarily helping Maggio’s campaign for a seat on the state Court of Appeals.

Morton, a Fort Smith businessman, hasn’t been charged with a crime. He has said the money was meant for Maggio’s judicial campaign but wasn’t an attempt to influence the outcome of the lawsuit.

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