The Juror's Got A Crush On You, Mr. Prosecutor

not the juror in question

I think we've been here, before, but let's revisit the story of the juror who has a crush on a prosecutor and who got a wee bit flirtatious. 
The New Hampshire Court of Appeals doesn't see a problem with this vis-a-vis the now convicted defendant who thinks, he should have declared a mistrial.  This is the report from the TimesUnion.com.  This is an excerpt from reporter Robert Galvins's story: 

If you were on trial for manslaughter, would you be OK with a juror who had a crush on one of the prosecutors?

Well, the state's highest court has no issue with it whatsoever.

The Court of Appeals said as much last week in a ruling that upheld the 2008 manslaughter conviction of Alicia Lewie of Glens Falls who was found guilty of recklessly causing the death of her 8-month-old son in 2007.   The 15th page of the 19-page decision noted that Lewie's attorney, Matthew Hug, argued the trial judge erred by not removing a female juror who had sent an "odd and inappropriate" note during deliberations.

"The note mentioned, among other things, the breakup of the juror's marriage and her view that the male lawyer who sat in the second chair at the prosecution table was a 'cutie,'" the ruling explained. "The juror asked, perhaps jokingly, to be given that lawyer's telephone number when the trial was over."

Any bias there?

Not according to the Court of Appeals.

"We think the trial judge handled this problem quite skillfully," stated the decision written by Associate Judge Robert Smith. "After disclosing the note to counsel and discussing it with them, he interviewed the juror in counsel's presence; explained to her gently that the note was inappropriate; and obtained her assurance that nothing, including her favorable impression of a prosecutor, would prevent her from being fair to both sides."

[The Court's opinion] continued, "Nothing in the interview, or in the note itself, suggests that the juror was biased."

Lewie's appeal argued the juror's actions demonstrated she had an eccentric personality.

"Eccentrics are not barred from serving on juries," the decision stated.

The ruling explained jurors can be discharged only if they are "grossly unqualified" or engage in "misconduct of a substantial nature."  In this case, the decision continued, "This juror was not grossly unqualified and engaged in no substantial misconduct. There was no reason for the trial judge either to discharge her or to make further inquiry."

The decision raises the question of what, pray tell, is substantial misconduct by a juror?  In Albany, acting Supreme Court Justice Dan Lamont regularly tells jurors that if a prosecutor or defense attorney should sneeze, they should forego natural inclinations and avoid saying "God bless you."

The reason Lamont always gives? It simply "doesn't look good."

At the state's highest court, calling a prosecutor a "cutie" evidently looks good enough.
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Got that?  Now go to jail and stop complaining.

Facebook Juror Update

Hadley Jons, the Facebook Juror who disclosed her "guilty" verdict on the social network before hearing the defense in a case, apologized and been given a writing assignment in disposition of her contempt citation, here's MLive.com's follow-up:

"A Detroit-area woman who was removed from a jury for commenting about an ongoing case on Facebook has a longer writing task ahead: a five-page essay about the constitutional right to a fair trial. A judge ordered the essay Thursday for Hadley Jons, three weeks after she wrote on Facebook that it was 'gonna be fun to tell the defendant they're GUILTY.' The trial, however, wasn't over.

'I'm sorry, very sorry,' Jons, 20, of Warren told Macomb County Circuit Judge Diane Druzinski.

The post was discovered by the defense team Aug. 11 — before the defense had even started its case — and Jons was removed from the jury the next day.  [Judge] Druzinski told Jons that it didn't matter whether she used Facebook to express an opinion or simply spoke to a friend about the case.

'You violated your oath. ... You had decided she was already guilty without hearing the other side,' the judge said.

By Oct. 1, Jons must submit an essay about the 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and pay a $250 fine.  Jons declined comment outside court. Her attorney, John Giancotti, said the outcome was appropriate. He declined further comment.  Jons was a juror in a criminal case against Leann Etchison, who was charged with resisting arrest. She was eventually found guilty.

The Facebook post was found by Jaxon Goodman, the 17-year-old son of Etchison's defense lawyer. 'She'll think twice about how important being on a jury is,' Goodman said."
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The one thing you might bear in mind, Facebook, Twitter and the other social networking forums have given defense attorneys a tool to look at suspected juror misconduct that did not exist previously.  Great story.  Good and appropriate outcome by Judge Druzinski.

Facebook Post: "I'm Going to Vote Guilty!"

This is from M[ichigan]Live.com and it's almost unbelievable:

"Like all Macomb County jurors, 20-year-old Hadley Jons received a warning not to discuss her case outside of court. But that didn't stop her from sharing her thoughts on Facebook. 'actually excited for jury duty tomorrow,' she wrote Aug. 11 on the popular social media website. 'it's gonna be fun to tell the defendant they're guilty. :P'

Jons never got that chance though, and the next day proved far from fun.

The Macomb Daily reports the son of defense attorney Saleema Sheikh discovered the Facebook post before Jons eventually deleted it, and Judge Diane Druzinski asked her about it the next day in court. After initially denying the post, Jons reportedly 'put her head down' and failed to respond when Druzinski read it aloud.  Jons was serving as a juror in the trail of a 40-year-old Clinton Township resident charged with a misdemeanor and a felony for resisting arrest. The case went on without her, but prosecutors eventually dismissed it when remaining jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

Now, Jons will head back to court to face a potential fine or possible jail time. WDIV reports she will appear before Druzinski on Thursday for a contempt of court hearing.

'She was explicitly explained the rules just like everybody else,'  Sheikh told the television station, arguing Jons deserves to spend a short amount of time behind bars. 'She deliberately defied a court order in something as serious as this. So I think she needs to learn something.'

As far as Facebook failures go, Jons managed a triple crown: She either had lax privacy settings or accepted a friend request from someone she didn't know, discussed a private matter in a very public setting and failed to realize deleting a post doesn't delete it from the public record. Add those to the file."
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Expect this story to make it into a plot line of a television Law and Order episode, soon.

Inappropriate Courtroom Attire

The New York Post has as amazing story about the alternate juror kicked out of a NYC courtroom for wearing a t-shirt that says "Who the F--- Is Kanye West? in 2 inch high letters.  Here is an excerpt from their report: 

The shirt in question, worn by 19-year-old alternate No. 3, Nneka Eneorj, as she sat in the front row of the jury box, caught the judge's eye just as the defendant was about to take the stand. 'WHO THE F--- IS KANYE WEST?'  the shirt read, the offending obscenity resting just above the wood veneer rail of the jury box.  Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber ordered the other jurors out of the courtroom -- directing Eneorj to stand before his bench.

'Do you think it's appropriate to wear a shirt that says 'f---' on it in my courtroom?' the judge asked, anger in his voice. When Eneorj started to protest about having a sweater on -- not that it covered the front of the shirt -- the judge cut her off, demanding, 'You're excused.'

'Sounds like a personal problem,' she sniffed of the judge as she walked out of the courthouse, indignantly. 'They'd better give me my check back,' she added, scowling, meaning her $40 payment for the day's jury service. 'You will not believe what the f--- just happened!' she gabbed into her cell phone, as two news photographers snapped away on the sidewalk outside."

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Here we go again?   I am seriously ill-liberal about courtroom attire as readers of Bad Lawyer know.   Whether we agree with what happens in any given courtroom or not, our clothing, our attitude and our behavior in court is necessarily respectful.  The courtroom is a place of justice and judgment.  Anything that fundamentally distracts from that purpose is mistaken, error and contemptuous, in my opinion. 

Some Idiot On the Jury Watched this Video and Doesn't See an Assault!

This from the Seattle Post Intelligencer  website as reported by Levi Pulkkinne

"After two days of deliberation, a jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case of fired King County Deputy Sheriff Paul Schene, accused of assault related to an incident involving a 15-year-old girl.  The jury sent a note to the court saying that it could not reach a verdict. A judge then declared a mistrial in the case. A prosecutor said Schene would be retried.  The jury was split 11-1 to convict him, King County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Dan Donohoe said.

'We're disappointed that we weren't able to persuade all 12 jurors that Deputy Schene's conduct was lawful,' defense attorney Peter Offenbecher said following the mistrial.

Facing misdemeanor assault charges [!!!!], Schene had contended he used only 'the amount of force I thought to be reasonable' when he kicked and punched Malika Calhoun in a SeaTac holding cell. Surveillance video showed the violent altercation, in which Schene pulled the girl to the cell floor by her hair.  The Nov. 29, 2008, incident began with a traffic stop, when Schene and his partner, trainee Travis Brunner, pulled over Calhoun and a friend just after 2:30 a.m. The car, investigators came to believe, had been taken from Calhoun's guardian earlier in the night.

Once at the small jail, though, Schene began implying Calhoun was a prostitute and deriding both girls as 'stupid and ugly,' Ernsdorff said. Schene, he said, eventually started examining photos on the girl's cell phone without her permission or lawful authority.

That sour mood took a violent turn after Calhoun, [was] asked to remove her shoes by Schene, kicked a sneaker at the deputy. Holding cell video clearly shows Schene charging into a holding cell after Calhoun kicked the shoe.  Testifying in his own defense, Schene said that he only moved on the 120-pound girl after she kicked a soft-soled basketball shoe at his groin.  Schene, as shown on the video, stormed into the holding cell, kicking Calhoun in the hip before grabbing her by the hair. It appears Schene also delivered a punch to the girl's face before dragging her to the ground, where he punched the Calhoun twice more before cuffing her with Brunner's help.  While Schene did file a 'use of force' notice with his supervisor following the incident, he did not note that he'd kicked or punched the girl.

Doing so, Deputy Prosecutor Gary Ernsdorff noted, would have made a full investigation mandatory. Instead, the incident was classified as minor and would not have been reviewed by internal investigations had not a detective found video of the alleged assault while investigating Calhoun for assault on an officer.

Sheriff Sue Rahr fired Schene, 32, in September for numerous policy violations that included using excessive force and making false statements. His union is appealing his termination. His partner, Deputy Travis Brunner, received a five-day suspension for his role in the incident.   Ernsdorff also noted that Schene later claimed the flipped shoe caused a 'blood-filled pocket' to form in his leg. Schene admitted the mistake on the stand, saying he initially believed the injury to have been caused by the shoe but now realizes he injured himself on the cell toilet during the altercation.

Charged with fourth-degree assault, Schene's trial before King County Superior Court Judge Michael Fox concluded late Wednesday. Facing a fourth-degree assault charge, Schene remained out of custody pending the case's resolution."
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If that had occured in Bad Lawyer-land, there would have been no video, and Miss Calhoun would have been charged with felonious assault.  Miss Calhoun is lucky that Deputy Schene didn't kill her.  Did I mention, he's trying to get his job back?

Sharon Dixon, Baltimore Mayor Resigns

Previously on Bad Lawyer I blawg-ed about Mayor Sharon Dixon of Baltimore who was convicted of misdemeanor petty theft.  The Baltimore Sun is reporting on the deal to keep Her Honor out of jail, she resigns. 

This prosecution was oteworthy because of the apparent extraordinary misconduct of jurors who were involved in "social networking" and cyber-research during the trial.  The post-trial proceedings promised at least a re-trial.  Now it is all moot, with the plea deal and resignation of Mayor Dixon. 

TMI?

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that local judges are dealing with the problem of smart phone technology and social networking as it relates to keeping jurors insulated from news accounts and social media sites like Facebook. 

Recently, Baltimore mayor Sheila Dixon was prosecuted for bribery and embezzlement as it related to the taking and use of "gift cards" from a former boyfriend/developer that were variously said to have been donated for the needy.  She was convicted of misdemeanor embezzlement and is due to be sentenced January 15th.  In a motion for a new trial, Dixon is citing to juror misconduct that included 5 jurors "friending" one another on Facebook, during the trial and talking about the case online.  Ouch.

Here's the deal, when you are selected for jury duty, your entire focus is supposed to be on the testimony and evidence, what the Judge allows you to hear and consider, not what you develop outside of the courtroom.  That jurors are talking about the case among themselves and others is jury msiconduct.  That smartphones and social networking sites facilitate this is a real problem.  Sounds to me like Mayor Dixon is going to get a new trial.

For more:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/anne-arundel/bal-md.ar.tmi13dec13,0,2858534.story