Sarasota judge denies new trial motion in 'Take Care of Maya' case after juror interview

A Sarasota judge denied a motion by the defense for Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital for a new trial based on juror misconduct following a short, limited interview Wednesday with the jury foreperson in the 'Take Care of Maya' trial.

Lawyers for the hospital filed a motion for a new trial based on alleged juror misconduct shortly after a six-member jury awarded Maya Kowalski and her family more than $261 million on Nov. 9.

The motion claimed the foreperson, Paul Lengyel, deliberately ignored Sarasota Circuit Judge Hunter Carroll's instructions against discussing the case with anyone during the trial, considering evidence outside of what was presented in court and forming opinions about the case before deliberations.

Dig deeper: 'Take Care of Maya' verdict raises questions for child healthcare providers

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Carroll agreed to interview the juror in December, limiting the questions to four topics: Whether the foreperson received or shared information about the trial with outside sources, including his wife; whether he conducted his own investigations into the case; his knowledge of Debra Salisbury, who was at one point an attorney for the Kowalski family; and whether he had an undisclosed opinion about the Florida Department of Children and Families and to what extent the two were connected through a domestic violence case against Lengyel in 2002.

On Wednesday afternoon, the courtroom remained mostly empty with only a handful of community members and media present for the interview. Jack and Kyle Kowalski were in the courtroom but Maya was not.

Paul Lengyel, who was elected to be the foreperson and was at the center of the defense's motion for a new trial, appeared wearing a navy-blue suit jacket and crimson tie. He was accompanied by his attorney Robert Turffs.

The interview by Carroll lasted less than 30 minutes with Lengyel answering the questions in a straightforward manner.

Carroll began his questioning with two documents, including Lengyel's questionnaire, which all potential jurors were required to complete during the first round of jury selection, and a printout of a 2002 Broward County case against Lengyel involving his ex-wife.

Carroll asked Lengyel if DCF had been involved in the case and whether any of his three minor children at the time were sheltered by the organization or a similar entity at the time, which could have resulted in Lengyel having any strong opinions about DCF or the government's ability to remove children from the care of their parents.

Lengyel told the judge that DCF hadn't been involved in the case, his children hadn't been sheltered and that as of Sept. 14, 2023, when he filled out the questionnaire, he had no opinions about either DCF or children being removed from their parents' care by the government.

Lengyel said he did not know that his current wife, who he said he has been married to since 2016, had been represented by attorney Debra Salisbury and only learned that fact after the defense raised the point in its motion.

As part of the filing, the hospital accused Lengyel of speaking with his wife about the case, despite Carroll's emphasis against such discussions during the case and questions to jurors about whether they had spoken to anyone or conducted outside research throughout the trial. As he did every time during the trial, Juror No. 1 confirmed that he hadn't spoken to his wife about the trial and hadn't done any research about the case.

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Asked if he knew that his wife would be attending court on Oct. 30, Lengyel said his wife had told him she wanted to go, and he had said that it was fine with him. However, Lengyel told Carroll he hadn't seen his wife in the gallery that day, explaining that his diabetic myopathy made it difficult to make out figures from a further distance.

After the judge's questioning, the defense lawyers said they simply didn't find the former juror credible. Greg Anderson, attorney for the Kowalski family, said the court essentially made their argument in a Jan. 2 motion denying a request to expand the scope of Wednesday's questioning, and that it was time to put the matter to rest as Lyngyel showed no ambiguity and answered forthrightly.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Carroll informed the attorneys he hopes to have orders ready for other motions the defense has submitted by Jan. 22.

Attorneys for the hospital, family respond to judge's order

Ethen Shapiro, one of the hospital's attorneys, submitted a statement after the hearing thanking Carroll for interviewing Lengyel and describing the juror's interview was just the first step in the appeals process.

“Although we believe that there were additional, significant lines of inquiry that the Court should have pursued, we think the evidence is clear that there were major ethical, procedural, and legal violations that took place throughout the course of this trial that tainted the jury and led to an unjust verdict," the statement said.

Shapiro said the hospital plans to continue to pursue an appeal to reach "a final, just conclusion" for the doctors, nurses and staff of the hospital, as well as mandatory reporters who are obligated to report suspected child abuse.

"We are confident in our appeal and look forward to presenting our case to the Court of Appeals," Shapiro said.

Anderson expressed he hopes the hospital will not stretch the case out further, especially with such a high interest rate accumulating as the Kowalski family continues to wait to receive the money they were awarded. However, he said if the case goes to the appellate court, it could stretch out for another year.

"I knew we'd win," Anderson said. "I thought the juror did an absolute superb job, but I'm extremely disappointed that it went this far."

Anderson said he felt badly for the juror and praised Carroll as a wise judge who proceeded cautiously in such a high-profile case.

"We — Jack and I and Maya and Kyle — we continuously get emails and calls and letters, and they just break your heart," Anderson said. "We can't represent everybody, but I do know that if the Kowalskis prevail on this are going to try to do something to establish a foundation or some other system so that there is support for folks out there, so they can take on the system, so they can take on these huge healthcare systems."

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Juror interview leads to Sarasota judge's denial of new trial motion