Government Likely To Simplify, Sharpen Gill Pratt Case

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A mistrial isn't what prosecutors wanted but court watchers say it gives them a chance to sharpen their focus and simplify their case in a pending retrial of former state lawmaker Renee Gill Pratt.

Gill Pratt's racketeering conspiracy trial ended Thursday with a deadlocked jury. Donald "Chick" Foret, a New Orleans defense attorney who observed portions of the trial, says a retrial gives the government some advantages, including plenty of time to develop a rebuttal to Gill Pratt's trial testimony.

Defense attorney Mike Fawer is, meanwhile, asking a judge to declare Gill Pratt not guilty, saying prosecutors have a weak case focused mostly on members of political operative Mose Jefferson's once-powerful family.