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California Appeals Court Reverses Guilty Verdict due to Juror Coercion

By Walin & Klarich

You may be able to get conviction reversed if the judge pressures juror to change their vote A recently decided case highlights a problem that faces accused criminals in the court system: judges pressuring jurors to change their vote from not guilty to guilty. Amongst professional California criminal defense lawyers, this form of judicial coercion is regarded as an Allen charge. An Allen charge will enable a convicted criminal to have his guilty verdict reversed for new trial if it can be shown that the judge knew which juror(s) were holding out from forming the guilty verdict such that the individual juror(s) would view the instruction to reconsider their vote as being directed specifically at them. In U.S. v. Williams, a juror convinced that the defendants were not guilty based upon presented evidence informed the judge that she would not change her position, that she was tired of being harassed by other jurors to change her mind, and that she suspected the other jurors were convicting the defendants because they were prejudiced...continue to full post

Full post as published by Southern California Criminal Defense Blog on December 03, 2008 (boomark / email).