Search | Punch and Jurists

U.S. v. Bendek, No. 96-9408 (11th Cir.) (146 F.3d 1326) (July 23, 1998) (Per Curiam)

Article • August 1, 1998 • from P&J August, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Jurors - Alternates

U.S. v. Bendek, No. 96-9408 (11th Cir.) (146 F.3d 1326) (July 23, 1998) (Per Curiam) by Case held that even assuming permitting alternate juror to deliberate with regular jurors constituted plain error which affected the defendant's substantial rights, it did not warrant reversal since defendant failed to show prejudice from …

U.S. v. Acevedo, No. 95-4729 (11th Cir.) (141 F.3d 1421) (May 22, 1998) (Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat)

Article • June 1, 1998 • from P&J June, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Jurors - Alternates

U.S. v. Acevedo, No. 95-4729 (11th Cir.) (141 F.3d 1421) (May 22, 1998) (Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat) by Case held that violation of rule requiring court to discharge alternate jurors prior to deliberations does not require automatic mistrial.

Nevers v. Killinger, No. 97-CV-75175-DT (E.D.Mich.) (990 F.Supp. 844) (December 30, 1997) (Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff)

Article • May 1, 1998 • from P&J May, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Publicity - Prejudicial

Nevers v. Killinger, No. 97-CV-75175-DT (E.D.Mich.) (990 F.Supp. 844) (December 30, 1997) (Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff) by This decision contains one of the most comprehensive reviews that we have seen recently on the topic of prejudicial pretrial publicity. The outcome of this case was that the Court granted a Writ …

Nevers v. Killinger, No. 97-CV-75175-DT (E.D.Mich.) (990 F.Supp. 844) (December 30, 1997) (Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff)

Article • May 1, 1998 • from P&J May, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Publicity - Prejudicial

Nevers v. Killinger, No. 97-CV-75175-DT (E.D.Mich.) (990 F.Supp. 844) (December 30, 1997) (Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff) by Here the Court vacated the convictions of 2 cops convicted of 2nd degree murder due to prejudicial pretrial publicity.

U.S. v. Avery, No. 95-5232 (6th Cir.) (137 F.3d 343) (November 3, 1997) (Judge Nathaniel R. Jones)

Article • April 1, 1998 • from P&J April, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Bias/Discrimination

U.S. v. Avery, No. 95-5232 (6th Cir.) (137 F.3d 343) (November 3, 1997) (Judge Nathaniel R. Jones) by Here the Court essentially affirmed its earlier decision, reported at 128 F.3d 974, in which it established a nearly impossible burden of proof for proving that a search at an airport was …

U.S. v. Ovalle, No. 94-1566 (6th Cir.) (136 F.3d 1092) (February 23, 1998) (Judge Karen Nelson Moore)

Article • April 1, 1998 • from P&J April, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Bias/Discrimination

U.S. v. Ovalle, No. 94-1566 (6th Cir.) (136 F.3d 1092) (February 23, 1998) (Judge Karen Nelson Moore) by Here the Court invalidated as racially discriminatory a jury selection plan designed to increase the number of Black jurors which it determined was in violation of the Jury Selection and Service Act, …

U.S. v. Tucker, No. 96-3231 (8th Cir.) (137 F.3d 1016) (February 23, 1998) (Judge John R. Gibson)

Article • April 1, 1998 • from P&J April, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Juror Competency/Inquiry Issues

U.S. v. Tucker, No. 96-3231 (8th Cir.) (137 F.3d 1016) (February 23, 1998) (Judge John R. Gibson) by Here the Court held that a claim that a juror concealed bias during voir dire warranted a "McDonough" evidentiary hearing as established in McDonough Power v. Greenwood, 464 U.S. 548 (1984).

U.S. v. Brito, No. 96-50757 (5th Cir.) (136 F.3d 397) (February 27, 1998) (Judge Will L. Garwood)

Article • April 1, 1998 • from P&J April, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Juror Competency/Inquiry Issues

U.S. v. Brito, No. 96-50757 (5th Cir.) (136 F.3d 397) (February 27, 1998) (Judge Will L. Garwood) by Here the Court rejected a claim that one of the jurors had been "coerced" into a guilty verdict by threats from the other jurors, essentially on the grounds that once the jurors …

U.S. v. Funches, No. 96-5244 (11th Cir.) (135 F.3d 1405) (February 24, 1998) (Judge James Larry Edmondson)

Article • March 1, 1998 • from P&J March, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Jury Nullification

U.S. v. Funches, No. 96-5244 (11th Cir.) (135 F.3d 1405) (February 24, 1998) (Judge James Larry Edmondson) by One of the issues addressed in this case was the controversial topic of jury nullification. On that issue, the Court wrote as follows: "Juries sometimes assume the power of nullification; still, nullification …

DeLisle v. Rivers, No. 96-1198 (6th Cir.) (132 F.3d 298) (December 8, 1997) (Judge James L. Ryan)

Article • February 1, 1998 • from P&J February, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Publicity - Prejudicial

DeLisle v. Rivers, No. 96-1198 (6th Cir.) (132 F.3d 298) (December 8, 1997) (Judge James L. Ryan) by This habeas case involved a highly publicized murder case in which a father was accused of drowning his four children by driving them into the Detroit River. His defense was that it …

U.S. v. Torres, No. 96-1535, No. 1587 (2nd Cir.) (128 F.3d 38) (October 9, 1997) (Judge Guido Calabresi)

Article • December 1, 1997 • from P&J December, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Bias/Discrimination

U.S. v. Torres, No. 96-1535, No. 1587 (2nd Cir.) (128 F.3d 38) (October 9, 1997) (Judge Guido Calabresi) by United States v. Torres, 128 F.3d 38 (2nd Cir. 1997) (Judge Calabresi) Torres dealt principally with the rules that apply to dismissal of jurors for bias; but it also discussed a …

U.S. v. Avery, No. 95-5232 (6th Cir.) (128 F.3d 974) (November 3, 1997) (Judge Nathaniel R. Jones)

Article • December 1, 1997 • from P&J December, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Bias/Discrimination

U.S. v. Avery, No. 95-5232 (6th Cir.) (128 F.3d 974) (November 3, 1997) (Judge Nathaniel R. Jones) by The defendant in this case, a Black, was targeted for a search at an airport by one of the thousands of drug interdicton squads that are rapidly becoming an integral part of …

U.S. v. Herndon, No. 97-5254 (6th Cir.) (156 F.3d 629) (September 2, 1998) (Judge Ronald Lee Gilman)

Article • November 1, 1997 • from P&J November, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Juror Competency/Inquiry Issues

U.S. v. Herndon, No. 97-5254 (6th Cir.) (156 F.3d 629) (September 2, 1998) (Judge Ronald Lee Gilman) by Here the Court held that a juror's recollection, during trial, that he may have had prior business dealings with the defendant was an "extraneous influence" on the juror and the district court …

Dyer v. Calderon, No. 95-99002 (9th Cir.) (122 F.3d 720) (May 5, 1997) (Judge J. Clifford Wallace)

Article • October 1, 1997 • from P&J October, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Bias/Discrimination

Dyer v. Calderon, No. 95-99002 (9th Cir.) (122 F.3d 720) (May 5, 1997) (Judge J. Clifford Wallace) by Case concluded that it was bound by a State court's finding of juror impartiality and declined to grant any habeas corpus relief; but this decision was reversed by an en banc decision …

Perez v. Marshall, No. 96-16950 (9th Cir.) (119 F.3d 1422) (July 22, 1997) (Judge Stephen S. Trott)

Article • September 1, 1997 • from P&J September, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Jurors - Removal/Excusing

Perez v. Marshall, No. 96-16950 (9th Cir.) (119 F.3d 1422) (July 22, 1997) (Judge Stephen S. Trott) by The issue in this case was whether a trial judge violated a defendant's Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial by dismissing a juror when it knew that the juror in question …

U.S. v. Rodriguez, No. 96-4095 (8th Cir.) (116 F.3d 1225) (June 25, 1997) (Judge Richard S. Arnold)

Article • August 1, 1997 • from P&J August, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Juror Competency/Inquiry Issues

U.S. v. Rodriguez, No. 96-4095 (8th Cir.) (116 F.3d 1225) (June 25, 1997) (Judge Richard S. Arnold) by The defendant in this case raised an interesting claim: he argued that he was entitled to a new trial because his Fifth Amendment rights had been violated when the jury, during its …

U.S. v. Thomas, No. 95-1337 (2nd Cir.) (116 F.3d 606) (May 20, 1997) (Judge Jose A. Cabranes)

Article • July 1, 1997 • from P&J July, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Jury Nullification

U.S. v. Thomas, No. 95-1337 (2nd Cir.) (116 F.3d 606) (May 20, 1997) (Judge Jose A. Cabranes) by QUOTE OF THE WEEK - Jury nullification - a different view. Although Judge Wiseman's decision in this case was subsequently vacated by an unpublished order of the Sixth Circuit, his words represent …

U.S. v. Thomas, No. 95-1337 (2nd Cir.) (116 F.3d 606) (May 20, 1997) (Judge Jose A. Cabranes)

Article • July 1, 1997 • from P&J July, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Jury Nullification

U.S. v. Thomas, No. 95-1337 (2nd Cir.) (116 F.3d 606) (May 20, 1997) (Judge Jose A. Cabranes) by When this decision was first announced it was widely billed as the decision that would end all future debate on the politically sensitive issue of jury nullification. Perhaps such promises were based …

U.S. v. Horsman, No. 96-3013 (8th Cir.) (114 F.3d 822) (June 13, 1997) (Judge Frank J. Magill)

Article • July 1, 1997 • from P&J July, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Jury Nullification

U.S. v. Horsman, No. 96-3013 (8th Cir.) (114 F.3d 822) (June 13, 1997) (Judge Frank J. Magill) by In this case the Court held (at page 829) that there was no violation of a defendant's subatantial rights where the only possible deprivation suffered was the possibility of jury nullification.

Dyer v. Calderon, No. 95-99002 (9th Cir.) (113 F.3d 927) (May 5, 1997) (Judge J. Clifford Wallace)

Article • June 1, 1997 • from P&J June, 1997

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Bias/Discrimination

Dyer v. Calderon, No. 95-99002 (9th Cir.) (113 F.3d 927) (May 5, 1997) (Judge J. Clifford Wallace) by The decision in this case was replaced by the Court's subsequent ruling reported at 122 F.3d 720; and that decision was ultimately vacated by the Court's en banc ruling reported at 151 …