You are here: / / JURORS WHO ENGAGED IN PREMATURE DELIBERATIONS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED...

JURORS WHO ENGAGED IN PREMATURE DELIBERATIONS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED AS “GROSSLY UNQUALIFIED” ABSENT A FINDING THEY COULD NOT RENDER AN IMPARTIAL VERDICT (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing defendant’s conviction and ordering a new trial, determined two jurors, who engaged in premature deliberations by discussing the case on the subway, should not have been discharged, over a defense objection, as “grossly unqualified:”

The record does not support the court’s discharge of a juror and an alternate, over defense objection, as “grossly unqualified.” The record establishes that the two jurors engaged in premature deliberations while on the subway by discussing the demeanor and testimony of witnesses and the age of the case. Initially, the court properly conducted an inquiry of the jurors themselves and confirmed that they had engaged in premature deliberations. However, it should have inquired further and ascertained whether they were unable to render an impartial verdict, rather than discharging them as grossly unqualified based solely on the conclusion that, by prematurely deliberating, they had violated the court’s instructions not to discuss the case … . “Premature deliberation by a juror, by itself, does not render a juror grossly unqualified” … . The “grossly unqualified” standard for removal of a sworn juror is higher than that for a prospective juror, and “the record must convincingly demonstrate that the sworn juror cannot render an impartial verdict for him or her to be disqualified”… . Nothing express or implied in the jurors’ answers suggested that they could not render an impartial verdict in spite of their conversation and decide the case based solely on the evidence before them … . People v Thompson, 2021 NY Slip Op 06778, First Dept 12-2-21

 

You might also like
ALTHOUGH THIS SHAREHOLDERS’ DERIVATIVE ACTION AGAINST A SWISS CORPORATION REQUIRES THE APPLICATION OF SWISS LAW, NEW YORK IS THE PROPER FORUM; MOST ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ARE RESIDENTS OF NEW YORK AND THE ALLEGATIONS IN THE COMPLAINT REFLECT A SUBSTANTIAL NEXUS TO NEW YORK (FIRST DEPT).
PLAINTIFF HUSBAND WAS ENTITLED TO 15% OF THE APPRECIATON OF THE WIFE’S PREMARITAL ART-GALLERY BUSINESS IN THIS DIVORCE PROCEEDING REQUIRING THE DISTRIBUTION OF A NUMBER OF SUBSTANTIAL ASSETS (FIRST DEPT).
THE NYC HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION (HRA) WAS NOT ENTITLED TO ANY OF THE PROCEEDS OF PLAINTIFF’S CAR-ACCIDENT SETTLEMENT BECAUSE THE SETTLEMENT DID NOT INCLUDE MEDICAL EXPENSES; PLAINTIFF WAS BARRED FROM RECOVERY OF MEDICAL COSTS BECAUSE HER BASIC ECONOMIC LOSS WAS LESS THAN $50,000 (INS LAW 5102) (FIRST DEPT).
IN THIS ACTION STEMMING FROM DEFECTIVE RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE BACKED SECURITIES, MORGAN STANLEY’S ALLEGED FAILURE TO NOTIFY PLAINTIFF OF THE DISCOVERY OF DEFECTIVE SECURITIES IS AN INDEPENDENT BREACH OF CONTRACT; GROSS NEGLIGENCE CAUSE OF ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED DESPITE SOLE REMEDY CONTRACTUAL PROVISION.
ATTORNEY’S FEES RECOVERABLE UNDER AN ACCOUNT-STATED THEORY DESPITE TERMINATION OF THE ATTORNY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP (FIRST DEPT).
JURY SHOULD HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED ON ARSON FOURTH (RECKLESS) AS A LESSER INCLUDED OF ARSON SECOND (INTENTIONAL), NEW TRIAL ORDERED (FIRST DEPT).
Parent Who, Under a Shared Custody Schedule, Has Custody of the Child the Majority of the Time, Can Not Be Ordered to Pay Child Support to the Other Parent, Financial Issues Are Irrelevant
THE DEFENDANT HOSPITAL, CREMATORY AND FUNERAL CHAPEL RELIED IN GOOD FAITH ON THE INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS PROVIDED BY DECEDENT’S DOMESTIC PARTNER; PLAINTIFFS, DECEDENT’S ADULT CHILDREN, RAISED NO OBJECTION TO THE ARRANGEMENTS MADE BY THE DOMESTIC PARTNER UNTIL A MONTH AFTER DEATH; THE “INFRINGEMENT OF RIGHTS OF SEPULCHER” ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (FIRST 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

DOUBLE HEARSAY SUPPORTED THE DENIAL OF THE APPLICATION TO HAVE A REPORT MAINTAINED... PETITIONER, A PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEE AND THE ONLY FEMALE MANUAL-LABOR EMPLOYEE...