Appeals court reinstates assault convictionBenally's conviction was tossed when a juror came forward with allegations of racial bias. The jury foreman, according to the juror, said he used to live near a reservation and said that "when Indians get alcohol, they all get drunk." Other jurors then backed the foreman, and the verdict became a way to "send a message back to the reservation," according to court documents.
Although a lower court decided to overturn the conviction, the claims of racial bias were not enough to warrant a new trial, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver decided.
Federal laws prevent jurors from testifying about jury deliberations, which "insulates the deliberations of the jury from subsequent second-guessing by the judiciary," the court wrote in its decision.Comment: For more on the subject, see
Stereotypes Cause Mistrial.
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