COLUMBUS, Ohio — The jury in the FirstEnergy corruption trial finished their seventh day of deliberations without a verdict, but they were pulled into the courtroom because the court accidentally gave them documents they weren't supposed to see. Of them, at least several pages of the state's updated indictment document made it to their room.
The Summit County jury has been deliberating for a full week, trying to decide on whether former FirstEnergy CEO Chuck Jones and former SVP Mike Dowling are guilty of bribing former Public Utilities Commission Chair (PUCO) Sam Randazzo with $4.3 million to get beneficial rulings. Randazzo was previously indicted with Jones and Dowling, but killed himself after pleading not guilty in 2024.
Friday afternoon, Summit County Court of Common Pleas Judge Susan Baker Ross brought the jury in from deliberations, asking how many saw two exhibits that somehow made it into their file. The first was a "highly confidential" transcript of an interview that Assistant Attorney General Matt Meyer conducted with FirstEnergy board member James O'Neil from October 2025.
The second was at least several pages of a revised indictment document from September of 2025, one that shows that the men were previously charged with money laundering and theft. Baker Ross had dismissed those charges. It is unclear if they had the following pages, which include details of the corruption scheme, including dark money groups they were involved with, that were forbidden by the judge from being introduced.
While in court, the judge apologized for the mishap. She also questioned the jury about the documents while raising them in the air. She said that a juror had gone to their foreperson to show the two included files, who then brought it to the court's attention. The jurors had agreed not to let it impact their decision-making and to forget about it.
Baker Ross then asked the jury if they were ready to continue deliberating.
RELATED: FirstEnergy corruption trial jury still without verdict after 5 days
"Are you feeling like there is a possibility to reach a verdict in this case?" the judge asked, to which the jury nodded.
After dismissing the jurors, she went back into chambers with the main attorneys for each side, later coming out to ask everyone if they had anything to add about this situation.
Both Meyer and Dowling's attorney, Steve Grimes, said no. Jones' attorney Carole Rendon agreed.
"We are also comfortable with the jury continuing to deliberate on this case," Rendon said.
Jury's knowledge
Day after day, the jurors sit behind closed doors. On Friday, they finished up their 56th hour of deliberations.
RELATED: What the jury doesn't know while deliberating the FirstEnergy corruption case
And while the jury received some additional information previously unknown to them, there is information being restricted to both the public and the press.
"I'm making the determination that the interest of justice outweighs any public interest in releasing any further jury information right now," Baker Ross said on Monday, referring to the third question the jury wrote.
“If we cannot agree on the charge of bribery, do we evaluate the other charges?” the jury asked. Seemingly frustrated that the press got access to this question, the judge indicated that she was worried about jurors being harassed.
"I'm just really concerned about my jury feeling that the integrity of the jury process is being respected," she said to the press.
Jurors asked another question, which prompted her to reread a section of the original jury instructions on how evidence must be reviewed.
"I need for each one of you to kind of acknowledge for me that you do, that you are able to consider all the evidence that has been presented, and understand that that may be direct or circumstantial evidence or both," she said Thursday. "Is everyone able to follow that?"
Before and after the jury was brought in, the prosecution was smiling, while the defense quietly talked to their clients.
In a court order late Thursday afternoon, the judge said she wouldn’t be allowing the public to know what this question was, saying the “release would potentially impair or intrude into the juror’s deliberations.”
The jury is also protected from learning about another FirstEnergy-related case playing out in court.
The Department of Justice is fighting against former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and former GOP leader Matt Borges’s appeals to their convictions. In 2023, both men were found guilty of participating in this same corruption scheme, with Householder accepting $61 million from Jones and Dowling in exchange for H.B. 6.
RELATED: Ex-Ohio Speaker Larry Householder open to plea deal to avoid state corruption trial, say attorneys
In newly filed court docs, the DOJ argued that “Overwhelming evidence showed that Householder solicited and received money from FirstEnergy in exchange for official action,” and that the company’s repeated payments were clear bribes.
Jones and Dowling face federal charges for racketeering, as well. The jury does not know this, nor do they know that FirstEnergy, as a company, already admitted to bribing both Householder and Randazzo. Or that Randazzo died by suicide suicide.
As the Akron jury continues to deliberate without this knowledge, the judge urges all evidence, except the exhibits accidentally given to them, to be carefully considered.
If the verdict comes during the week of March 30, News 5's Bob Jones will be taking over coverage.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
