You are here: / / Court’s Failure to Elicit Unequivocal Declarations Jurors Could Set...

Court’s Failure to Elicit Unequivocal Declarations Jurors Could Set Aside their Biases Required Reversal

The Fourth Department determined the court’s failure to elicit an unequivocal declaration jurors could set aside their bias and render an impartial verdict required reversal:

It is well established that “[p]rospective jurors who make statements that cast serious doubt on their ability to render an impartial verdict, and who have given less-than-unequivocal assurances of impartiality, must be excused” … . While no “particular expurgatory oath or talismanic’ words [are required,] . . . [prospective] jurors must clearly express that any prior experiences or opinions that reveal the potential for bias will not prevent them from reaching an impartial verdict” … . During voir dire, the statements of three prospective jurors with respect to the credibility of the testimony of police officers or bias in favor of the police cast serious doubt on their ability to render an impartial verdict …, and those prospective jurors failed to provide “unequivocal assurance that they [could] set aside any bias and render an impartial verdict based on the evidence” … . Contrary to the court’s conclusion, we conclude that the nodding by these three prospective jurors as part of a group of prospective jurors who were “all nodding affirmatively in regard to the statement [of another prospective juror]” was “insufficient to constitute such an unequivocal declaration”… . People v Strassner, 2015 NY Slip Op 02342, 4th Dept 3-20-15

 

You might also like
Contract Which Theoretically Could Be Completed in a Year, Even If Highly Unlikely, Survives Statute of Frauds Defense
Questions of Fact Raised About Whether Sellers’ Representations on the Condition Disclosure Statement Claiming No Water-Related Problems on the Property Violated Real Property Law 462, 465, Constituted Fraud, and Constituted Breach of Contract
Exception to Written Notice of Defect Prerequisite Did Not Apply; Question of Fact Whether Municipality Created Dangerous Condition (Gap in Bridge-Roadway)
PLAINTIFFS ALLEGED THE TOWN NEGLIGENTLY MAINTAINED A SEWER MAIN CAUSING SEWAGE TO BACKFLOW INTO PLAINTIFFS’ HOME; AN INTENTIONAL ENTRY IS ONE OF THE ELEMENTS OF TRESPASS; THEREFORE THE TRESPASS CAUSE OF ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (FOURTH DEPT).
MOTION TO VACATE CONVICTION BASED UPON RECANTING TESTIMONY PROPERLY DENIED WITHOUT A HEARING, WEAKNESS OF RECANTING TESTIMONY EMPHASIZED (FOURTH DEPT).
DEFENDANT, WHO WAS CONVICTED OF STATUTORY RAPE (NO FORCE) WHEN HE WAS 18 IN 1996, SHOULD HAVE BEEN CLASSIFIED A LEVEL ONE, NOT LEVEL TWO, RISK (FOURTH DEPT).
POSTREADINESS DELAY BECAUSE A PROSECUTION WITNESS WAS ON VACATION WAS CHARGEABLE TO THE PEOPLE, DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS ON SPEEDY TRIAL GROUNDS SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FOURTH DEPT).
DEFENDANT, AN OUT OF POSSESSION LESSEE OF THE PROPERTY WHERE PLAINTIFF WAS INJURED, WAS NOT AN OWNER WITHIN THE MEANING OF LABOR LAW 240 (1) AND 241 (6), DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT DISMISSING THOSE CAUSES OF ACTION WAS PROPERLY GRANTED (FOURTH DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Failure to Inform Defendant of the Period of Postrelease Supervision Required... Appeal Waiver Did Not Encompass Youthful Offender Status/Defendant Should Have...