Federal Judiciary

The Bible Shall Set You Free

By Robert Loblaw

U.S. v. Lara-Ramirez, 06-2108 (1^st Cir., Mar. 11, 2008)

I?ve written a few times before about death row inmates who have tried to avoid execution based on the fact that the jury used a Bible during deliberations. That argument did not fly in the Fourth or Ninth Circuits, but a First Circuit panel has just set free a criminal defendant who had a Bible-thumper on his jury.

But it?s not because the jury relied on the Bible to convict the defendant. Instead, it?s because the district court took drastic action to avoid having a tainted jury. Indeed, in this case, the district court learned about the Bible in the midst of deliberations and, after briefly questioning the foreperson, decided to order a mistrial over the defendant?s objection. The defendant then argued that Double Jeopardy barred the state from retrying him. The district court refused to dismiss the indictment, concluding that Double Jeopardy did not bar retrial since the mistrial was a matter of manifest necessity.

On appeal, the First Circuit disagrees. The Court points to the above-mentioned decisions from the Ninth and Fourth Circuits (as well as a similar one from the Eleventh), for the proposition that a Bible in the jury room is not a show-stopper. The district court should have investigated the extent of the Bible?s impact on the jury before declaring a mistrial. Although a mistrial may ultimately have been necessary after further investigation, the limited record compiled by the district court does not support this finding. Accordingly, Double Jeopardy applies and an alleged drug dealer walks free.

Full post as published by Decision of the Day on March 12, 2008 (boomark / email).