Lawyers defending a New Jersey rabbi accused of arranging the murder of his wife of 28 years asked for a mistrial Friday after a tumultuous morning in which the jury decided it might not be at a standstill and one of the jurors told the judge a Philadelphia magazine reporter approached him.

The judge presiding over the Camden County, N.J., case denied the motion, however, sending the jury back into deliberations for a sixth day.

Fred J. Neulander, 60, is accused of offering two men $30,000 to kill his wife, Carol Neulander, and disguise the crime as a robbery gone wrong. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

After indicating Thursday that it had deadlocked on all three counts facing the rabbi — capital murder, felony murder, and conspiracy — the jury said Friday that decision was premature and it needed more time to decide the case.

"The jury wishes to have more time to decide if we are at a standstill," read a note delivered Friday morning to Judge Linda Baxter. The jury has deliberated for more than 30 hours across five days, and has twice indicated it had problems reaching a unanimous decision.

Philadelphia reporter Carol Saline told the judge she made a mistake in approaching one of the jurors.

Earlier on Friday, Judge Baxter held a hearing to determine how to respond to the standstill note delivered by the jury on Thursday. Her decision, which was preempted by the jury's unexpected announcement that it had not, in fact, reached a standstill, could suggest that she is determined to bring the jury to a decision.

"Although I have great respect for the quality and duration of the jury's deliberations ... in light of the length and complexity of the trial I do not believe that it would be coercive or unreasonable to ask the jury to resume deliberations," Baxter told attorneys in a morning hearing.

In making her decision, Judge Baxter noted that there were 11 trial days, 40 witnesses and approximately 60 pieces of evidence including audio tapes.

After the jury's Friday note, however, Judge Baxter decided, "I think that it would be premature to give that charge [for the jury to continue deliberating]."

In yet another twist, a Philadelphia reporter covering the trial nearly jeopardized the four-week proceeding by attempting to discuss the case with one juror. The juror told the court on Friday that he had been contacted by Carol Saline, a writer with Philadelphia magazine, who had asked to interview him as they walked through the courthouse grounds before the trial. Saline, who was the first to interview the rabbi years ago, has been a frequent guest during the trial on Court TV.

After calling the juror into her chambers to discuss the contact with the lawyers present, Judge Baxter told the jury, "He did exactly the right thing ... so that incident in no way jeopardizes your continued deliberations so you may at this time continue your deliberations."

Her wrath was not spared on Saline. "Do you deny that you violated my order?" Baxter asked the journalist.

"I do not regularly cover courtroom trials and it was an error," Saline explained. "It certainly was," Baxter shot back.