Alabama Appellate Court Finds Juror Unanimity Not Required for Death Sentence
In Iervolino v. State, defendant raised numerous claims of error seeking to overthrow his conviction and death sentence. These include several assertions of Batson errors and an attack on a 10-2 jury verdict imposing the death penalty. With respect to the Batson claims, the appellate opinion interestingly lists the types of evidence that can show sham or pretext in a challenged party’s use of peremptory strikes. Regarding its approval of a non-unanimous death sentence, the court refused to apply the unanimous jury verdict doctrine established in Ramos v. Louisiana, 140 S.Ct. 1390 (2020), citing an unpublished federal 5th circuit opinion interpreting Ramos to require only unanimity as to the existence of at least one aggravating circumstance but not for the sentence eventually imposed.
Kansas Police Send Warnings of Jury Duty Scam
KSN.com news channel in Wichita reports of a bogus outreach to local citizens whereby a supposed sheriff’s office claims they are calling on behalf of a judge and accusing the recipient of missing jury duty. The scammers then ask their audience to send them a pre-paid money card to cover the cost of a fine.
Juror Misconduct Leads to Large Tort Damages Settlement
In a Georgia car crash case, a jury rendered a $1.2 million verdict for the plaintiff. Plaintiff alleged suffering back, hip, and other injuries when his car was struck from behind by a pickup truck. According to the Court View Network, after the verdict was rendered, plaintiff was approached a former juror saying another jury member improperly researched the value of similar claims during deliberations. Further investigation revealed the juror who allegedly researched the claim was affiliated with an insurance agency -- a fact not disclosed during voir dire. Plaintiff also learned another juror initially refused to award more than a million dollars in the case, even though juror said in voir dire that he would have no problem awarding a much higher figure if the evidence warranted it. That juror agreed to award more only after jurors threatened to get the bailiff. The case settled for $2.1 million after affidavits detailing the juror misconduct were secured and the defense was notified of an imminent motion for a new trial.
Harvard Research Points to Benefits of Diversified Juries That Include Ex-cons
The Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School published “Inequitable and Undemocratic: A Research Brief on Jury Exclusion in Massachusetts and a Multipronged Approach to Dismantle It.” The authors explored an integrated approach to removing barriers to jury participation for people with felony convictions, pending felony charges, and other criminal legal system contacts. They demonstrate eliminating the felony jury exclusion is practicable, equitable, and administrable–producing fairer, more representative juries, improving community safety through community reintegration, and removing one of the most glaring mechanisms of racial disproportionality in composing the venire. Their work product makes a series of recommendations, including removing the felony disqualification, proactively notifying newly eligible jurors of their rights, adjusting the standards governing challenges for cause and peremptory challenges during jury selection, and affirmatively reinstating jury eligibility for people previously disqualified and eliminated from the jury rolls by virtue of a felony record or pending felony charge. The Kennedy School last week released an interview with the researchers.