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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5 page paper examines four cases where jury decisions were overturned by the court. The reasons are numerous but involve either misconduct or the incompetence of the jury. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
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5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: RT13_SA516jrr.rtf
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to yield a reversal for the convicted. Why? Jurors must follow the letter of the law. If they do not, the defendant will have another day in court. It is
only fair, and some of the cases provide answers. One cannot excuse juror misconduct when someones life or well-being is on the line. In some instances jurors simply did not
follow the law by interjecting their own specialized knowledge and in others, jurors added in materials or had improper discussions. In yet other cases, jurors were simply illogical and could
not come up with a proper verdict based on the evidence. What comes through on all of these cases is that jurors did not follow the judges instructions. In one
case, Michael Maragh had been tried for killing his girlfriend and when the jury returned a not guilty verdict, they did go with the lesser charge of criminally
negligent homicide (Sagar, 2000). The defense immediately filed a CPL 330.30 which would set aside the jurors verdict due to juror misconduct (2000). At the hearing, it would be learned
that two of the jurors did testify that two other jurors were nurses and interjected the idea that a circumstance would give way to enough blood loss volume to induce
death (2000). They used their medical expertise during deliberations which led to the verdict. However, the nurses opinions were not in concert with the prosecutions theory that had the victim
die from punches to the victims abdomen (2000). The county court did grant the defendants motion and the verdict was set aside (2000). The case begins with the
following remarks: "On this appeal, we must determine whether the use of personal professional expertise by jurors, communicated to the whole jury, constitutes juror misconduct affecting its guilty verdict so
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