Deliberations Must Start Over : Lam Juror Is Excused for ‘Personal Reasons’

After two days of deliberations, a juror in the murder trial of Minh Van Lam was excused for “personal reasons” Thursday and was replaced by an alternate, forcing deliberations to start over.

Several of the 11 other jurors winced as Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard J. Beacom advised them that they must “set aside and disregard” their discussions so far “and begin deliberations anew . . . as if they had not taken place.”

Beacom discharged juror Tamera Abdalnour, a beauty college student, after receiving a note from her Thursday afternoon. The contents of the note were not disclosed and Beacom advised remaining jurors not to speculate on the reason for the dismissal.

Abdalnour declined comment as she left the courtroom.

Professor Shot

Lam, 21, is accused of murder in the shooting death of Cal State Fullerton physics professor Edward Lee Cooperman, 48, who bled to death in his college office last Oct. 13. Lam told police he accidentally shot Cooperman when the professor grabbed his arm to show him how to aim a .25-caliber pistol.

The prosecution is seeking a first-degree murder conviction and maintains that the shooting was premeditated.

Beacom said that Abdalnour had given a personal reason that was “not frivolous.” The judge also told reporters that he acted under a state law that allows seating an alternate if a juror dies, becomes ill or for “other good cause” cannot perform her duty.

Supreme Court Ruling Cited

The judge also cited a 1976 California Supreme Court ruling that upheld the replacement of a juror in an armed robbery case. In that case, one of the original jurors explained that she felt more emotionally than intellectually involved and that she thought she would not be able to make a decision based on the evidence or the law.

The new juror in the Lam case, Charlotte M. Kaiser, joined the rest of the panel late Thursday afternoon, but the jury decided to recess for the day. Deliberations are expected to continue today.