14 results for 'cat:"Constitution" AND cat:"Jury"'.
J. Rosenbaum finds that the district court properly convicted defendant, the ex-sheriff of Clayton County, Georgia, of using his position to deprive pretrial detainees in his custody of their constitutional right to be free from excessive force. On six occasions, defendant had non-violent, compliant detainees handcuffed and confined to restraint chairs for hours without bathroom breaks. Defendant had fair warning that his conduct was unconstitutional. Restraint chair use qualifies as "force" and defendant's use of force was objectively excessive since the detainees were not actively resisting. There was sufficient evidence to allow the jury to find that defendant's conduct had no legitimate nonpunitive purpose and caused the detainees injuries including open wounds and scarring. The district court correctly questioned a juror after receiving reports that they refused to follow the law and properly issued two Allen charges during deliberations. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Rosenbaum, Filed On: April 29, 2024, Case #: 23-10934, Categories: constitution, jury, Civil Rights
Per curiam, the circuit finds the district court properly struck the black citizens from the jury pool. Though a jury pool member says he was the only one asked if he knew the black defendant, he cannot show the prosecutors dismissed him solely for racial reasons. No constitutional violation is shown. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: 22-30687, Categories: constitution, jury
J. Mathis finds that while a statistical disparity exists between the number of black residents in the London, Kentucky area and the number included on the jury wheel used by the district court to empanel a jury, defendant failed to prove the disparity was extreme enough to establish a constitutional violation, especially considering there is no procedural flaw in the method used by the court to select its juries. Meanwhile, although a circuit split exists regarding the constitutionality of felon-in-possession of firearm convictions, there is no controlling precedent that would render defendant's conviction a violation of the Second Amendment; therefore, it will be upheld. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Mathis, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 22-6048, Categories: constitution, Firearms, jury
J. Hicks grants a request by a hospital service district to strike the trial by jury demand of a father suing a district-owned hospital for allegedly failing to give his 13-year-old son a thorough medical examination, resulting in his death the day after discharge. Since adoption of the Seventh Amendment in 1791, federal courts have consistently held there is no right to a jury trial against a political subdivision. The hospital, which originally requested a jury trial, may have a judge-only trial instead.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Hicks, Filed On: March 1, 2024, Case #: 5:22-cv-00171, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: constitution, Health Care, jury
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Cannataro finds that defendant was properly convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide and manslaughter for causing a three-car accident that killed one person and seriously injured four others. Defendant contends his trial rights were violated since he could not gauge prospective jurors due to Covid-19 protocols requiring that they wear face masks unless being questioned individually, but defendant did not have a specific right to an unobstructed view of every potential juror's face during the selection process. Affirm.
Court: New York Court Of Appeals, Judge: Cannataro, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: 13, Categories: constitution, jury, Vehicular Homicide
J. Gabriel finds the trial court properly refused to allow defendant to ask each potential juror their race because the question was irrelevant and he was still allowed to ask various questions regarding racial bias, a key issue for his defense at trial. Meanwhile, the trial court properly allowed the prosecution to use back-to-back peremptory challenges to dismiss two black jurors because the jurors' opinions on police and the death penalty gave the court legitimate reasons to excuse them. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Gabriel, Filed On: February 20, 2024, Case #: 2024CO10, Categories: constitution, jury
J. Fox finds the trial court properly limited the victim's damages to $250,000 in a case pertaining to injuries sustained from a defectively wired stove. The state of Colorado's cap on noneconomic damages does not deprive individuals of their Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial, and the injuries she sustained were relatively minor and have not prevented her from working or leading a productive life. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Court Of Appeals, Judge: Fox, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 2023COA107, Categories: constitution, jury, Damages
J. Chehardy finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to declare unconstitutional the form of jury determination statute, La. C.Cr.P. art. 905.7. The statute requires a unanimous jury to find at least one aggravating circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt in order to sentence defendant to death. Further, under statute, the Louisiana Supreme Court reviews every sentence of death to determine if it is excessive. Also, there is no double-jeopardy violation because the state cannot seek the death penalty on retrial of a capital case where defendant received a sentence of life imprisonment at the first trial. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Chehardy, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 23-K-461, Categories: constitution, jury
J. Wolohojian upholds the lower court’s decision not to hold a new trial in this gang murder case just because a juror failed to disclose she had a half-brother serving a sentence for a similar crime. Being fair and impartial does not require having no related experiences or no related opinions, thoughts or exposure to the subject matter in a case. Instead, it requires a willingness to accept the evidence and interpretation of laws particular to the case even if they contradict jurors’ related experiences, opinions, thoughts or exposure.
Court: Massachusetts Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wolohojian, Filed On: July 10, 2023, Case #: 20-P-747, Categories: constitution, jury, Gangs
J. Suttrell vacates a civil jury award against the nephew of a deceased uncle in the amount of $1,560,909 in favor of his aunt’s estate on the claim the younger man conspired to illegally convert his uncle’s inheritance. The trial justice erred by permitting a witness, a notary, to testify at trial despite knowing in advance that she would invoke her Fifth Amendment privilege. Her potentially explosive assertion of her Fifth Amendment privilege impermissibly tipped the scales in favor of the aunt’s estate and against the nephew by allowing the jury to draw adverse inferences against him for the possible criminal conduct of the notary. Vacated and remanded.
Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court, Judge: Suttell, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 21-56, Categories: constitution, jury, Privilege
J. Jackson denies summary judgment to Louisiana’s only forensic mental health hospital, holding that a civil detainee has carried his burden of showing that a psychiatric aide at the state facility violated his constitutional rights by forcing him to attend a Christian worship service over his express objection. The state’s attempt to show its employee, an avowed Methodist, acted reasonably considering a staffing shortage, relies on the “wrong law” and facts. The sharply worded ruling adds: “This case is going to trial.”
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 3:21cv267, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, constitution, jury