PITTSBURGH — Defense attorneys for celebrity pathologist Cyril Wecht want a federal judge to halt jury deliberations in Wecht's federal fraud trial until they receive more information on a juror dismissed due to a medical condition.

Wecht's attorneys filed the motion in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh on Wednesday as the jury finished an eighth day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.

Only 11 jurors were present Wednesday because Judge Arthur Schwab dismissed one juror before deliberations resumed in the morning.

The juror became ill Tuesday afternoon. He was admitted to a hospital after complaining of dizziness and telling the judge's staff that the deliberations were stressful, according to a brief hearing Schwab held before Wednesday's deliberations.

Wecht's attorneys filed an emergency motion Wednesday afternoon asking the judge to stop further deliberations until they get more information, including "verifiable information from his attending physician on his condition and ability to participate in and continue deliberations."

By law, the jury can continue deliberating with just 11 members.

If another juror were to fall ill or could not continue deliberating, Schwab could ask one of four alternate jurors, who were excused from service after closing arguments in the trial March 18, to join the deliberations. The judge, however, would first have to determine whether the replacement juror had been tainted by media coverage or other outside information.