3:54 p.m. PT

The old star can still make a Hollywood entrance. Blake fools them all and sashays directly up to the mic from a backdoor of an adjacent courthouse.—Bryan Lavietes

3:51 p.m. PT

As his attorney M. Gerald Schwartzbach goes on at length, the buzz around the media pit is: Where's Blake? Deputy Sonneman, who will escort the former defendant, tells me that he will get him as soon as he gets "the high sign"... from Schwartzbach. Regardless, teems of cameras and reporters swarm around the courthouse's side entrance in anticipation. —Bryan Lavietes

2:49 p.m.

A shaken, red-eyed Robert Blake is escorted out of the courtroom into the conference room between court and hallway. Deputy Sonneman calls for white tape to cover the room's small window to afford the acquitted actor some privacy. —Bryan Lavietes

2:48 p.m.

As the jurors file out of the courtroom, both Blake and Bakley's daughter Holly Gawron are in tears for obviously different reasons. —Lisa Sweetingham

2:37 p.m.: BLAKE ACQUITTED

Upon hearing he is a free man, Blake breaks down in tears. He hugs his attorney, then holds his face, shaking with emotion. The jurors are not showing any emotion, but are looking into the gallery. The verdict prompts Bakley's daughter, Holly Gawron, to break down in tears. —Lisa Sweetingham

2:32 p.m.

The jurors begin to walk in. None of them appear to be making eye contact with Robert Blake. —Lisa Sweetingham

2:30 p.m.

The judge arrives and reads a portion of the penal code, as a warning to the press, with regard to jury tampering. —Lisa Sweetingham

2:25 p.m.

Bonny Lee Bakely's daughter Holly Gawron is sitting in the back row, next to her attorney Eric Dubin. I don't see Blake's daughter Delinah here. The deputy asks everyone to remain seated after the verdict is read. The jurors have not yet arrived. —Lisa Sweetingham

2:21 p.m.

The courtroom is filling up. A public lottery for seats has begun. About five or six deputies are helping to give out seats in an orderly fashion, and watch over the proceedings, which will begin soon. Blake is wearing his trial uniform and a long face.—Lisa Sweetingham

2:03 p.m.

Robert Blake is enjoying what could be his last minutes of freedom outside on the courthouse plaza talking with a legal assistant. A reporter (not this one) goes over to wish him good luck. Apparently, however, the actor wants some privacy, and he displays the first flash of anger I have ever seen in public. "Excuse me," he hisses loudly, waving the reporter away with his hand. "EXCUSE ME."—Bryan Lavietes

1:36 p.m. PT: VERDICT REACHED

A public information officer announces that the jury has reached a verdict on counts 1 and 3, but are hung on count 2, the charge in which Blake is accused of soliciting stuntman Ron Hambleton (pictured) to commit murder. The verdict will be read at 2:30 p.m. PT. —Lisa Sweetingham

1:28 p.m.

The hallway outside Judge Schempp's courtroom is electric. Reporters are here in full, all of Blake's defense team is here, Samuels is here, as are Detectives Ito, Tyndall and Eguchi. Ladies and gentlemen, the moment we've been waiting for could be upon us! No official word yet from the judge. The courtroom doors are still locked. —Lisa Sweetingham

Noon

Ruben Ortiz is back in court and waiting with us. You remember Ruben — I introduced him in previous blogs. Ortiz is a homeless, disabled and somewhat portly man whose laughter comes easy. Sometimes he sleeps outside near the courthouse; other times he rides the late train to catch his 40 winks. "Where'd it all go wrong, man?" I ask. His answer: "The bowling alley." When Ortiz was a kid, his mom would give him two choices: Ruben, school today or the bowling alley? As kids will do, he picked the bowling alley. His game excelled, and Ortiz boasts a high score of 267. But his reading and writing? "Not so good."

Ortiz, like so many Angelenos, had a short-lived acting career in the 80s. This is where Robert Blake comes in. Ortiz was working as an extra on the set of "Hell Town," when Blake came up to him, introduced himself, and said, "Don't be nervous, you're gonna do fine." Ortiz would like to say the same to Blake now, but he refrains from doing so out of respect. —Lisa Sweetingham

11:58 a.m.: Jury goes to lunch.

11:00 a.m.

If you watched our first liveshot of the day, you already know this, but last night Vinnie Politan, Lisa Sweetingham and I recreated the last evening of the Blake-Bakley marriage. We parked at the crime scene, dined at Vitello's, then paced back and forth from the restaurant afterward. We did walk out with a plate of fusilli a la Robert Blake, which Vinnie Politan brought to court today. (Tune in to Catherine Crier today and you just might see it, if there is no verdict to report!) —Bryan Lavietes

10:40 a.m.: Jurors take a mid-morning break.

9:57 a.m.: Readbacks end.

The readback is over. The jurors look puzzled as they file back into the jury room. —Lisa Sweetingham

9:13 a.m.: Readbacks begin.

Miles Corwin's testimony is being read by the court stenographer and so far revolves around the publicity of his book, "Homicide Special." The jurors are not taking notes. The sound of an empty soda can tipping over in the gallery seems to distract Juror No. 7. An alternate peers into the gallery absentmindedly. This does not appear to be the testimony they are seeking if we take into account the note they sent yesterday. (Check out yesterday's 3:15 p.m. entry.) Problem is, the "leverage" issue with stuntman Ron Hambleton was brought up briefly by defense lawyer Gerry Schwartzbach on cross, but it was cut short after the judge sustained an objection that it was hearsay. —Lisa Sweetingham

9:11 a.m.

Judge John S. Fisher, sitting in this morning for Judge Darlene Schempp, announces that the readback will take about 45 minutes, and that Judge Schempp will return later this morning. The jurors are here now. Most of them are wearing jeans. —Lisa Sweetingham

9:04 a.m.

The attorneys are in chambers, but the jury is not here yet. We are waiting... —Lisa Sweetingham

4:15 p.m. PT

Apparently the attorneys met in chambers with the judge to discuss the fact that there was a video taken by a journalist at the crime scene on the night of Bakley's murder. In the tape, I'm told by a confidential source, Blake reportedly can be seen crying and becoming sick, among other things, as the area is visited by paramedics and police. This video has been aired in the past by broadcast media, but Schwartzbach was unaware of its existence. The point appears to be that Schwartzbach would have liked to have used it, in addition to the crime-scene photos he showed during the trial, to give jurors further visual evidence of Blake's demeanor that evening. —Lisa Sweetingham

3:35 p.m.: Deliberations end for the day.

The detectives, attorneys and Blake leave for the day. No word about what was discussed in chambers. —Lisa Sweetingham

3:15 p.m.

Before they left the building, jurors apparently submitted another request. A copy of it was passed around to press and attorneys. The jurors asked for a readback of: "Defense cross-examination of Miles Corwin through to the point of the beginning of second readback. IE [sic] the previous readback." But what's most interesting about this request is what's crossed out. Scribbled above and summarily crossed out is the initial request: "Miles Corwin's testimony referencing pressure or leverage placed on Hambleton." They will return for the readback first thing tomorrow at 9 a.m. —Lisa Sweetingham

3:03 p.m.

The attorneys are heading into chambers with the judge. Another non-event? Rumors swirl that it may a discovery issue. —Lisa Sweetingham

2:52 p.m.

The readback of author Miles Corwin's testimony is over 28 minutes later. One juror was supposed to leave at 2:45 p.m. for an appointment, for which she is now heading out a little late. The judge announces that the jurors are done for the day. For what it's worth, that gives them an extended evening to mull over the testimony they just reheard. Among the highlights: Corwin's defense of his decision to destroy his notes; defense lawyer Gerry Schwartzbach's picking away at his contract with the LAPD; and a mention of a 2001 meeting between detectives and attorneys that Corwin sat in on.
—Lisa Sweetingham

2:23 p.m.

Deja vu. The jurors are back. Here we go again. Corwin testimony, part deux.

Just minutes earlier, the jurors sent a new request for more testimony of author Miles Corwin (pictured) during his cross-examination. Seems they didn't get enough from the speedy readback of the portion they first asked for. —Lisa Sweetingham

1:58 p.m. PT

After the jurors leave, Judge Darlene Schempp (pictured) discusses this morning's L.A. Times report on the record. "I was surprised to read it in the paper," she says. "This was a non-event in my mind." The judge explains what yours truly reported this morning to you faithful blog fans — that jurors asked about the timeline shortly after they began deliberations on March 4. She went on to say that they asked if Bakley's nine notebooks were in evidence on March 7. "I didn't treat it as anything unusual," Schempp says, adding that she'd be happy to answer any questions. New York Times reporter Charlie LeDuff raises his hand from the back row: "Does this mean you'll be canceling your subscription to the L.A. Times?" The judge and attorneys laugh, as does Robert Blake.—Lisa Sweetingham

1:53 p.m.

The jurors are back in the courtroom, the judge reads the question, and the court stenographer reads through the testimony lickety-split. About one minute and it's all over. —Lisa Sweetingham

1:40 p.m.

Detective Ronald Ito stops by to chat with reporters. "Whaddya think?" he asks. "Not looking too good for you," I joke. He laughs, and says he's not looking for an honest answer. If the jurors are doing this in order, and they have questions about the solicitation, does it mean they've already decided on acquittal for murder? Truth is, only the jurors know. And they are about to file in for readbacks.—Lisa Sweetingham

1:38 p.m.

We are all assembled here in the courtroom. Press, deputies, Detective Ito, Blake. The attorneys, judge and jurors are nowhere to be seen. Blake is wearing his dark-blue suit and tie and light-blue dress shirt. If you've been following this trial for any length of time, you've seen it before. It's his trial uniform. He looks thin and solemn. But once in a while, he cracks a smile at a joke from the press. —Lisa Sweetingham

12:08 p.m.: Jurors break for lunch.

10:58 a.m.: Readbacks requested.

We have a formal request from the jurors for testimony from two witnesses. The question form is copied for the press and attorneys. The readbacks will be given at 1:30 p.m. Here's what the jury wants: —Lisa Sweetingham

1. Testimony of Ronald Hambleton during the prosecution's first redirect on Feb. 10. "All portions related to Hambleton's testimony referencing his San Bernardino case," their request says.

2. Testimony of Miles Corwin on Jan. 19 "referencing testimony on pages 359 and 361 of his book."

10:54 a.m. PT

Nine jurors and alternates are chatting it up on the courthouse plaza. Some are smoking. All are laughing and having a fine old time. Does this beat going to work or what? —Bryan Lavietes

10:52 a.m.

The jurors take their morning break. As they leave the jury room and pass an open door that looks into the courtroom, a reporter notices one or two chuckling as they glance in the direction of all the media camped out in here. —Lisa Sweetingham

9:35 a.m.

Gerald Schwartzbach says he was unaware of the mysterious requests reportedly made by the jury. But a deputy sheds more light on the issue when he reveals these inquiries were made casually, not officially, back on March 4 when the panel began deliberations. According to his account, the jury asked if they had missed a timeline as they sifted through 400 piece of evidence. But there was a good reason they didn't find it — it wasn't there, because it was never entered into evidence. Ditto for the notebooks containing letters from Bonny Lee Bakley's business. And that was the end of it. These were questions they had as they began to deliberate, and not an indication of where they are at this moment. —Lisa Sweetingham

9:30 a.m.

A jury just found former WorldCom CEO Bernie Ebbers (pictured) guilty on the eighth day of deliberations in his fraud trial. Today is the eighth day of Blake deliberations. An omen?—Bryan Lavietes

9:25 a.m.

An L.A. Times story this morning reports that in addition to the readback of testimony the jurors requested on March 9, they also requested to see a timeline referred to by the prosecution during closing arguments. A colleague and I do some digging. "This is new information to me too," a public information officer tells me. Now we're hearing from a deputy that the panel also asked about the nine notebooks of Bonny's letters gathered by the defense. Neither the prosecution's timeline nor the notebooks are in evidence, so at least we know the jury can't be viewing them. But it will be interesting to find out why these requests, if they were made, weren't officially disclosed to the media. —Lisa Sweetingham

9:11 a.m. PT: Deliberations begin for the day.

8:45 a.m.

Jury Fashion News Flash: Collared short-sleeve shirts are back in style. Six jurors are downstairs in the empty cafeteria basement, having coffee and talking at a back table. Their apparel today may be more a response to the agreeable weather we're having than an agreeable consensus in their deliberations. More details to follow...—Lisa Sweetingham