FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, NEW TRIAL ORDERED.

The Second Department, reversing defendant’s conviction, determined a for cause challenge to a juror should have been granted:

Here, prospective juror number 12 stated unequivocally that her experience as a crime victim, which she described as “traumatic,” would make it hard for her to be fair and impartial in this case. The prospective juror’s follow-up statement that she would “have to hear the case” before she could make a decision did not rehabilitate her initial response … .

Inasmuch as the sum of the prospective juror’s statements revealed a state of mind likely to preclude her from rendering an impartial verdict based upon the evidence adduced at the trial … , the challenge for cause should have been allowed … . People v Hutthinson, 2017 NY Slip Op 03774, 2nd Dept 5-10-17

 

CRIMINAL LAW (FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, NEW TRIAL ORDERED)/JURORS (CRIMINAL LAW, FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, NEW TRIAL ORDERED)