Top Connecticut Court Grapples With Juror-Exclusion Prerogatives
Judges appeared leery this morning about whether jury questionnaires singling out distrust of authority unfairly exclude minority voices.
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Escalator Fall
A jury in the King County Superior Court in Washington state returned a $3.2 million verdict in a wrongful death case against Alaska Airlines brought by the estate of 75-year-old Bernice Kekona, who was supposed to have gate-to-gate service but was left alone and ended up falling down an escalator in her wheelchair.
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New Jury-Unanimity Rule Stirs Debate on Retroactive Effect
With justices from both party lines noting the racist overtone of divided guilty verdicts, the Supreme Court dug in Wednesday to whether to bestow retroactive effect on a recent ruling requiring unanimous jury verdicts.
Read morePolice Shooting
The Ninth Circuit upheld a ruling in favor of a Los Angeles police officer who shot and killed a 14-year-old boy. Although a member of the jury in this excessive force case was in social media groups that closely followed law enforcement activity, and didn’t disclose that fact, such an affiliation “would not have provided a basis for a challenge for cause.”
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Four Cops Charged in Floyd Death to Be Tried Together
The four former police officers charged in connection with the arrest and death of George Floyd will face trial together in March, a Minnesota judge ordered Thursday, and that trial is tentatively staying in Minneapolis.
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San Diego Superior Looks to Boost Juror Attendance as Trials Resume
Only 41 prospective jurors out of 800 San Diegans summoned for jury duty showed up for service Tuesday as San Diego Superior Court held its first jury trial since initially suspending court operations in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Jury Selected in London for Vietnamese Migrants Trial
A jury panel was chosen on Monday in the trial of four men in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants whose bodies were found in a lorry in southeast England.
Read moreJury of Peers
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill Tuesday mandating county jury commissioners to expand their lists for jury pools to include all income tax filers — in addition to registered voters and licensed drivers — for more diverse and demographically inclusive jurors.
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Courtroom Drama: Scottish Cinemas Help Tackle Case Backlog
Two Scottish cinemas will host jurors later this month as part of plans to tackle a backlog in criminal cases caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
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California High Court Overturns Scott Peterson Death Sentence in Murder of Pregnant Wife
Nearly 16 years after being sentenced to death for the murders of his wife Laci and unborn child, Scott Peterson won a reprieve of sorts Monday: The California Supreme Court reversed his death sentence due to jury selection errors — but the murder convictions stand.
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Texas Judge Holds First Virtual Jury Trial in Criminal Case
A Texas justice of the peace opened the country’s first virtual criminal jury trial Tuesday, experiencing relatively few technical interruptions that have plagued other online court hearings since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Read moreSplit-Jury Verdict
GRETNA, La. — A Louisiana appeals court ruled Ronald Gasser, who killed NFL player Joe McKnight in 2016, is entitled
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Judge Orders Transparent Masks for Witnesses in Criminal Trial
Witnesses testifying in an upcoming criminal trial will be required to wear transparent face masks to keep the court in compliance with San Francisco’s public health directive, a state court judge ruled Thursday.
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Not Afraid of the Virus and Reporting for (Jury) Duty
Since March, when the coronavirus ground most court trials to a halt, the average American juror is now more likely to be a bit of a Trump fan.
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Judge in Floyd Murder Case Warns of Tainted Jury Pool
At a hearing Monday for the four officers charged in connection with George Floyd’s death, a Minnesota judge warned state prosecutors not to allow further public comment on the case before it goes to trial.
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In the Dock: Backlash After UK Gov’t Moots Partial End to Jury Trial
The British government has sparked a backlash for considering suspending jury trials for some crimes because of a huge backlog of cases caused in part by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Legal Experts See Tough Road for Jury Trials While Pandemic Rages
As the Covid-19 pandemic prevents people from gathering in courtrooms, courts throughout the United States are exploring new ways of preserving the right to trial by jury.
Read moreImmigration Bribery
Jurors’ alleged misconduct during the trial of a senior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorney was not so serious that it affected the verdict, the Ninth Circuit ruled. The attorney, Constantine Peter Kallas, was convicted of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from immigrants who were promised they would be allowed to remain in the United States.
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Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Split Jury Verdicts
Guilty verdicts from split juries will face a Supreme Court reckoning after the justices agreed Monday to hear an appeal by a Louisiana man sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping, rape and robbery.
Read moreCalifornia High Court Rules No Jury for False Advertising Charges
The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that businesses accused of false advertising and unfair business practices by state and local government officials are not entitled to a jury trial.
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