get his conviction overturned, says his lawyer.

Mr. Ian Kawaley said the way Shabazz's trial ended was a "striking irregularity''.

Shabazz would be appealing his conviction and using the "very unusual'' circumstances as part of his case, Mr. Kawaley added.

The attorney was speaking in Supreme Court yesterday at a special hearing designed to clear up confusion over the jury's verdict.

On Monday it appeared the jurors were unanimous in finding Shabazz guilty of stealing $121,000 from the Bank of Bermuda.

Yesterday, when they were called back to court by Puisne Judge the Hon. Mr.

Justice Ground, it was revealed that the guilty verdict was reached by a nine to three majority.

There had been a misunderstanding between the foreman of the jury and the court clerk when he asked her if the verdict was unanimous.

But Mr. Kawaley told the judge the special hearing had not put things right.

"All that today's proceedings have established is that the unanimous verdict that was recorded yesterday was an ambiguous verdict,'' he said.

Previous cases showed that once jurors had left the jury box they could not correct an ambiguous verdict, he said.

"It's a matter of public record that there is some question mark over the validity of the verdict yesterday.'' Mr. Kawaley said he had clear instructions from Shabazz to appeal.

"We would be relying on the confusion which ensued with respect to the verdict as supporting our general argument that the jury were in fact having considerable difficulty with the issues.'' This was reflected in the fact that the jury twice came back to the judge for guidance during their deliberations, he said.

Mr. Kawaley asked for Shabazz to be freed on bail until it was decided what sentence he would get.

"Reasonable bystanders'' might wonder if justice was being done by keeping Shabazz in custody, he added.

Crown prosecutor Ms Sharon Kenny agreed that technically, the unanimous verdict stood. But it was not ambiguous that Shabazz was guilty.

The Appeals Court would rule there had been no miscarriage of justice, she said.

Because of the seriousness of the offence, Shabazz should not get bail, she added.

Mr. Justice Ground told Mr. Kawaley: "I see nothing wrong with the verdict the jury have now returned after due consideration.'' He did not rule out the possibility of bail for Shabazz pending appeal but refused to bail him before sentencing.

He remanded Shabazz in custody until April 19, when a social inquiry report is expected to be ready.