Eddie Obeid has "much to lose" from his criminal trial but sympathy should not play any part in the jury's deliberations, the judge presiding over the case has said on the final day of the former Labor minister's three-week trial.
In his summing-up on Monday, Supreme Court Justice Robert Beech-Jones asked the jury to consider carefully whether the Crown had proved beyond reasonable doubt Mr Obeid committed the offence of misconduct in public office.
The jury retired to consider its verdict shortly after 2.30pm.
Mr Obeid, 72, is accused of wilful misconduct for allegedly "duping" a senior maritime bureaucrat that he was acting for arm's length constituents when he made representations in 2007 about the plight of retail leaseholders at Circular Quay.
In fact, the Obeid family had a financial interest in two cafe leases on wharves four and five at Circular Quay. They were seeking a renewal of those leases without competing in a public tender.
The defence has said Mr Obeid did "no more" than ask the bureaucrat, Steve Dunn, to speak to a commercial mediator acting for a group of tenants and did not advocate any particular result.
Justice Beech-Jones said members of the NSW upper house were bound to act only in what they believed was the public interest and not to advance their own interests or those of their family.
He said the Crown must prove Mr Obeid knew it was at least possible he was obliged not to use his position in the way he did and chose to do so anyway.
The jury must also be satisfied that Mr Obeid's alleged misconduct was so serious that it was "worthy of condemnation" by criminal punishment.
Justice Beech-Jones said the jury would "appreciate that the accused has very much to lose from this case" and this could "engender sympathy".
But he said sympathy could not play "any part" in their evaluation of the evidence in the case.
Mr Obeid exercised his legal right not to give evidence in the case and Justice Beech-Jones warned the jury this "cannot be used against him in any way at all during the course of your deliberations".
"It is not an admission of guilt," he said.
"The accused bears no onus of proof."
Paul Maroon, the bookkeeper for the cafes and a cousin of Mr Obeid's wife Judith, provided records in the case which suggested Mr Obeid received cash directly from the cafe's takings.
The Crown has used this as evidence pointing to the extent of Mr Obeid's financial interest in the cafes at the time he was lobbying Mr Dunn.
But the defence has insisted Mr Obeid had only an indirect interest in the businesses and did not receive cash payments.
Justice Beech-Jones warned the jury the evidence may be unreliable, given Mr Maroon's admitted short-term memory problems both at the time he was making the records and while he was giving evidence.
Separately, Justice Beech-Jones took the jury to phone records showing a series of calls between Mr Obeid and Mr Dunn, including one made just after the latter took on a role as deputy chief executive of the state maritime authority in August 2007.
The court has heard Mr Obeid and Mr Dunn had a friendly working relationship and had met when the former was fisheries minister and the latter was director-general of the fisheries department.
The Crown has alleged Mr Dunn, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, was "primed" to do what Mr Obeid asked of him.
The phone records show contact between the men around the time a draft government policy was changed in early September 2007 to allow the government to renew maritime leases in the first instance without a public tender.
Mr Dunn has denied he directed the policy to be changed but agreed it was an acceptable policy response. He gave evidence his policy stance was not influenced by Mr Obeid.
Justice Beech-Jones told the jury on Monday afternoon "we will be here for as long as it takes" and if they are still deliberating late into the week "so be it".
