JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
In Los Angeles, a mistrial was declared today in the arson trial of the man accused of causing last year's deadly Palisades fire. That fire killed 12 people and destroyed almost 7,000 structures. It was one of the worst wildfires in California history. Steve Futterman has been reporting on the trial, and he joins us now from just outside the federal courthouse in downtown LA. Hi there.
STEVE FUTTERMAN, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.
SUMMERS: Steve, just start by giving us some background on this trial and what led to the mistrial.
FUTTERMAN: Well, today's mistrial came after a trial that had been going on for a bit more than two weeks. The jury said it was deadlocked, divided 10 to 2 in favor of a not guilty verdict. Now, from the start, there were two very different sides to this case. The prosecution placed Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 30-year-old Uber driver, at the site of an earlier fire, which the prosecution said eventually became the Palisades fire, almost exactly at the precise moment it began just past midnight on January 1 last year. And the prosecutors described Rinderknecht as being troubled, angry with the world, trying to get back at society. And they made a point using conversations he had on ChatGPT.
SUMMERS: What did you hear from the defense?
FUTTERMAN: Well, the defense repeatedly said there simply wasn't enough evidence. It also suggested that when the fire began - remember, just after midnight, January 1 - people were setting off fireworks, and they said that was the likely reason it started. After the mistrial was declared today, defense attorney Steve Haney accused the government of trying to find someone to blame.
STEVE HANEY: You know, they need a scapegoat, and they picked on the convenient loner Uber driver that they did nothing but engage in character assassination for 2 1/2 weeks.
FUTTERMAN: Now, the chief federal prosecutor at the U.S. attorney's office here in LA immediately issued a statement after the mistrial that his office plans to retry the case. He says the evidence is strong.
SUMMERS: Talk about the decision to retry this case, even though the vast majority of jurors were in favor of an acquittal.
FUTTERMAN: Yeah, they were. And 10 to 2 in favor of acquittal is quite overwhelming. But former federal prosecutor Lori Levinson is not totally surprised. She says this is a high-profile case, and the prosecution, she says, can now fine tune its presentation for the retrial.
LORI LEVINSON: And that's because they've already seen the nature of the defense attack on their case. They can either go back and try to find more evidence or figure out a way to present it more convincingly.
SUMMERS: Steve, I understand that you heard from one of these jurors afterwards. What did you hear? Did you get any insight into their deliberations?
FUTTERMAN: Yes. Well, one of the jurors did come out to speak with reporters outside the courthouse. Her name is Syrena, juror No. 4. She did not want to give her last name. She was part of the group that voted not guilty. She says she was very bothered by the prosecution's repeated use of those ChatGPT conversations.
SYRENA: I'll be the first to say, I don't - this is embarrassing. I use ChatGPT, so I got really, like, sad. And, like, I talk to ChatGPT all the time. So that was like, I - made me angry that they were, like, putting his character down for just being human.
FUTTERMAN: And she also said from the very start of deliberations, Juana, that the majority of jurors were voting not guilty.
SUMMERS: Steve, what happens next?
FUTTERMAN: Well, the judge has already set October 19 for the start of the retrial. Meanwhile, Rinderknecht will remain in custody. His defense team wanted to find a way to allow him to be released. The prosecution argued, calling him a flight risk, and the judge agreed with the government.
SUMMERS: Steve Futterman reporting from the federal courthouse in Los Angeles, thank you.
FUTTERMAN: Thank you, Juana. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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