People v. Weatherton

One of the jurors in Defendant’s criminal case prematurely decided to vote guilty, repeatedly talked about the case outside deliberations, prematurely reached a conclusion regarding the veracity of certain testimony, and adopted the mantle of an advocate, repeatedly telling the other jurors that Defendant was guilty. The trial court found that the juror engaged in serious misconduct but that Defendant did not suffer prejudice. Defendant appealed his conviction of two counts of first degree murder and death sentence on the basis of juror misconduct. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that, under the facts of this case, the People did not discharge their burden of establishing that there was no substantial likelihood that the juror was actually biased against Defendant. View "People v. Weatherton" on Justia Law