THE O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL : Request Granted : Hearing: Dismissed juror says she is glad Judge Ito agreed to release record of their meeting. She denies any wrongdoing.

By HENRY WEINSTEIN

June 24, 1995 12 AM PT

TIMES LEGAL AFFAIRS WRITER

Francine Florio-Bunten finally got her day in court Friday.

The 38-year-old year San Gabriel resident who was dismissed from the Simpson jury for unspecified reasons in May came into Judge Lance A. Ito’s courtroom to support a motion by the American Civil Liberties Union and media organizations urging the release of sealed transcripts of juror hearings.

Her attorney, Rex T. Reeves Jr., said Florio-Bunten believed “she was sabotaged, in an effort to get her off the jury, by unknown persons.”

“The public has a right to know,” Reeves said. “We certainly believe Ms. Florio-Bunten has a right to know why she was dismissed after giving up five months of her life in this case. She wants to be vindicated and believes she will be vindicated,” after court records are made public.

Reeves said specifically that his client wanted the transcripts of her meetings with Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito and any related documents unsealed so she could find out whether she had been targeted for ouster and the reasons for her dismissal.

At a news conference after Ito agreed to release the materials, Florio-Bunten said “I’m kind of excited.” She said she is eager to learn who wrote a “mysterious letter” to the judge alleging that she and her husband, a construction worker, were negotiating a book deal. Florio-Bunten has vigorously denied that charge since she was kicked off the panel and reiterated that position Friday.

“I had no idea of writing a book or making money off the justice system,” she said. In fact, she said she called such a possibility “heinous and horrible.”

Florio-Bunten said that before dismissing her, Ito had held up a note, allegedly sent to him anonymously, saying she was exploring a book deal. She said she told Ito the allegations were untrue.

Florio-Bunten acknowledged that Ito told her he “didn’t believe in my candor.” But she said she was not clear as to why. She said the judge’s comment appeared to stem from an incident where another juror (Ferron Chavarria, who was subsequently dismissed) tried to pass her a note during one of the judge’s jury investigations.

But she said she never received the note and only learned of its contents when Ito showed it to her. “It said something to the effect, ‘Tell the judge about a juror writing a book.’ ”

Florio-Bunten said that she was not sure what Chavarria was referring to and that she was unaware of any other sitting juror who was or is working on a book.

She was mystified about why defense lawyers said they were pleased about her dismissal. She said she was not aware of anything she had done that would have prompted Simpson’s attorneys to think she was pro-prosecution. And she denied kicking or hitting an African American juror as two black panelists have alleged.

She was asked numerous times and in numerous ways whether she had reached a conclusion about Simpson’s guilt or innocence and just as often Florio-Bunten said she hadn’t: “The case is still in motion.”

But she said that she gave considerable credibility to the prosecution’s DNA evidence. “It’s like a fingerprint,” she said. And Florio-Bunten said she gave no credence to defense suggestions of a police conspiracy to plant Simpson’s blood at the crime scene.

As for the controversy over the gloves found at the crime scene and whether they fit Simpson, she said, “I was thinking I’d like to try them on myself.”

Florio-Bunten said the jurors never learned why their colleagues were dropping like flies as the case progressed. But she said on some evenings, she felt like singing a song, “Another One Bites the Dust.”

And despite the anger she has expressed at Ito for preventing her from deliberating on Simpson’s fate, she expressed some sympathy for the beleaguered jurist. “I see the pressure he’s under . . . I would hate to be in his position.”