rested without calling any witnesses, arguing simply that the prosecution had not proved its case. The jury deliberated less than 10 hours before finding Espy not guilty on all charges. One of the jurors said, "This was the weakest, most bogus thing I ever saw. I can't believe Mr. Smaltz ever brought this to trial." At least four other jurors echoed this view, though less pointedly. Barbara Bisoni, the only white juror, said Smaltz's case "had holes" and that race never entered into the deliberations. Related cases In 1996, Sun-Diamond Growers was fined $1.5 million for giving Espy $6,000 in gifts; in March 1998 it won a reversal at the Court of Appeals level. Independent Counsel Smaltz appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals, finding that the gratuities statute requires a link between a gift and an official act. Unable to make such a link, Smaltz dismissed the gratuities charge against Sun-Diamond. The court's unanimous April 1999 opinion, by Justice Antonin Scalia, stated that the prosecutor's interpretation of the law was so broad that even a high school principal could be in legal trouble for giving a souvenir baseball cap to a visiting Secretary of Education. The Sun-Diamond decision played a pivotal role in Espy's later acquittal because Smaltz was unable to link gifts he received to any official act. In a separate case during the same investigation, Espy's Chief of Staff, Ronald Blackley, was convicted in late 1997 on three counts of making false statements and sentenced to 27 months in prison. Controversy also arose in 1994 from a White House discovery that a foundation run by Tyson Foods had given Espy's then girlfriend, Patricia Dempsey, a $1,200 scholarship. Espy and his lawyer admitted that they deceived the White House, which at first accepted Espy's false claim that he was unaware of the scholarship before it was given to Dempsey. Administration officials said that the discovery of this scholarship was what forced Espy to resign as Secretary of Agriculture. In December 1997, Tyson Foods pleaded guilty to felony charges of giving Espy gifts. Personal life He married Sheila Bell, with whom he had two children before they divorced. Espy married Portia Ballard in 1999. Electoral history Senate results See also List of African-American United States Cabinet members List of African-American United States representatives References External links Mike Espy