Juries

Contacting Jurors Post-Trial

Here are two interesting articles about contacting jurors post-trial.  Interestingly, it is not always the defense that wants to contact jurors.

District Attorney Apologizes to Juror After Contact by Deputy

A call to a former juror by an Alamance County sheriff’s detective trying to get more information about how a jury voted in a sex-offense trial led to a letter of apology by the district attorney, even though the sheriff’s department does not think the detective did anything wrong...to continue reading go here.

Juror Info Denied in Ayres Case

Jurors in the first molestation trial of Dr. William Hamilton Ayres will not have their identities given to the defense but those who do not object to being contacted can return a questionnaire if they like...to continue reading go here.

Inspecting Juror Records

The Blog of Legal Times (BLT) has an interesting post about a  case currently before the DC Court of Appeals, Larry A. Gause v. United States.  This case examines whether criminal defendants have the right to inspect jury pool records.  According to BLT,

The appeal before the court arose after two men challenged their armed robbery convictions on the grounds that the D.C. Superior Court system for selecting jurors violates due process rights and violates the D.C. Jury System Act. The defendants, Larry Gause and Karlepa Wilkey, questioned the fairness of the jury pool, but were denied access to juror records. Lawyers for Gause and Wilkey have argued that the D.C. Superior Court system for picking juries systematically excludes African-American residents of the District.

 

 

FL Defense Attorney Wants Background Checks on Potential Jurors

 

The New-Press: Attorney for Lehigh Acres man wants background checks on juror

"...Attorneys met in court early last month because Mendez’s attorney Gary Bass wanted Lee Circuit Judge Mark Steinbeck to sign an order allowing him to get the names, addresses and driver’s license numbers of all prospective jurors for Aug. 14, the day Mendez was supposed to go to trial..."