DENIAL OF A FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE TO A JUROR WHO SAID IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO REACH A VERDICT WITHOUT HEARING FROM THE DEFENDANT REQUIRED REVERSAL (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that defendant’s for cause challenge to a juror who stated she wanted to hear from the defendant should have been granted:
… [T]he court erred in denying defendant’s challenge for cause to a prospective juror who stated that her belief in “hearing both sides of the story” would make it difficult for her to reach a verdict “without hearing from the defendant,” and who was repeatedly unable to give an equivocal assurance that she would follow the law as charged by the court. People v Rivera, 2018 NY Slip Op 08750, First Dept 12-20-18