While jury selection for the retrial of the defamation case against former Butler County Commissioner Jim Eckstein is set for Monday, the cause of the April mistrial continues to be debated.

Christine Pflugh, jury foreman for the first trial, said attorney Doug Linn, who is representing one of three plaintiffs, was out of line characterizing her as biased toward Eckstein.

“That’s completely false,” she said. “This is absolutely ridiculous.”

During a Sept. 1 hearing before presiding county Judge Kelley Streib, Linn blamed Pflugh’s political allegiance on a relative active in the Democratic Party. Eckstein was the sole Democrat on his board.

At a prior hearing, Linn, whose client is former county Commissioner Dale Pinkerton, said the relative was Pflugh’s father.

Streib on Sept. 1 asked Linn to confirm whether the relative was Pflugh’s father or uncle, but he was not able to do so.

Pflugh of Franklin Township vehemently denied the claim, saying neither her father nor any uncle lives in the county.

“I would be happy to give Linn any family history he desires,” she said. “I have nothing to hide.”

Pflugh said her family roots are in Pittsburgh.

“You would think he would have some facts before making accusations,” she said.

Pflugh said there is another Pflugh family, which has the same spelling but different pronunciation, in the county that she is not related to in any way.

Linn said during the Sept. 1 hearing that former county Commissioner Bill McCarrier told him about there being political ties through a relative.

McCarrier, who served with Pinkerton and Eckstein, said he talked to Linn about a former township supervisor, Harvey Pflugh, but is unaware of what his political affiliation was or anything about Christine Pflugh.

“I don’t even know who she is,” McCarrier said.

McCarrier said in addition to the Pflughs in Franklin, there is a family with that name in Saxonburg, but does not know whether those families are related.

Linn said another person informed him about Pflugh’s bias after the mistrial.

He said that if he knew about that bias during the jury selection process, he would have disqualified Pflugh from consideration.

“If I knew then what I know now,” Linn said.

Streib on Sept. 1 denied Linn’s motion to have early access to the jury pool list for the retrial.

County human resources director Lori Altman and her husband, state Trooper Scott Altman, are suing Eckstein in a separate lawsuit that is being tried simultaneously in county court.

Eckstein is accused of spreading a rumor that Pinkerton handed Altman an extra 20 percent pay hike in 2011 in exchange for not being charged for a drunken driving stop.

Investigations conducted by the state attorney general’s office and state police found no evidence of wrongdoing.

After eight days of testimony and argument in the first trial, the jury announced to the court there was a verdict.

However, once polled, the jury voted 7 to 5 in favor of Eckstein. A verdict in a civil case can only be reached with a minimum of 10 jurors in agreement.

Pflugh said she is unsure whether the five dissenting jurors were confused by consolidating multiple votes on separate counts for the verdict into one vote for the polling.

“I was very surprised and disappointed,” she said about the five no votes.

Pflugh previously said the jurors would not explain why they voted no following the mistrial declaration.

She said Linn is looking in the wrong place to lay blame for not winning the case the first time.

“The bottom line is he didn’t present any facts,” she said about Linn. “The only person to blame is him.”

Linn said the opposite is true — Pflugh’s actions while serving as jury foreman is the issue.

He accused Pflugh of tainting the jury’s decision making.

“She was the jury foreman,” Linn said. “She sold it to the other jurors.”

Linn blamed the mistrial on Pflugh.

“She came in and represented to the court she had 10 out of 12,” he said.

Linn said despite that announcement, the polling resulted in a 7-to-5 vote instead.

“And that’s my fault?” he asked rhetorically.

Linn said Pflugh acted inappropriately by contacting the defense attorneys after the mistrial and making these comments.

“She did everything wrong,” Linn said. “She was unconscionable.”

If jury selection is completed by Tuesday afternoon, the trial would start Tuesday afternoon. If not, the trial would commence Wednesday.