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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document653_ Filed 04/01/22 Page 13 of 40
The parties dispute whether the first prong of McDonough requires “deliberate juror
misconduct”—that is, whether the juror must have deliberately provided a false answer in voir
dire. The Government, relying on Second Circuit precedent such as United States v. Shaoul,
argues that a deliberate falsehood is required. Gov. Br. at 13 (citing Shaoul, 41 F.3d at 815-16).
In contrast, the Defendant contends that McDonough does not require deliberateness and that an
inadvertent false statement satisfies the first prong. Maxwell Br. at 23-28; Maxwell Reply at 9-
14, Dkt. No. 644.7 The Court does not resolve this legal dispute because, as explained in the
analysis section below, regardless of which approach is the correct one, the Court finds that the
false answers were not deliberate and that the second prong of McDonough is not satisfied.
Under the second prong of McDonough, the Court “must determine if it would have
granted the hypothetical challenge” for cause if the juror had responded accurately. United
States v. Greer, 285 F.3d 158, 171 (2d Cir. 2002); United States v. Stewart, 433 F.3d 273, 304
(2d Cir. 2006). “Challenges for cause are generally based on actual bias, implied bias, or
inferable bias.” Greer, 285 F.3d at 171. These categories do not always elucidate the analysis
and there is overlap (and sometimes confusion) in how they are discussed in some of the cases.
Nevertheless, it is important to attempt to delineate. Actual bias is “bias in fact,” due either to
the juror admitting partiality or a judge finding actual partiality based on the juror’s voir dire
answers. United States v. Torres, 128 F.3d 38, 43 (2d Cir. 1997). Implied bias is “bias
presumed as a matter of law” due to a juror’s relationship to the parties or connection to the
actual crime itself. Greer, 285 F.3d at 171-72. Finally, a judge may infer bias when actual or
implied bias does not apply. “Bias may be inferred when a juror discloses a fact that bespeaks a
risk of partiality sufficiently significant to warrant granting the trial judge discretion to excuse
3 Tn an amicus curiac brief, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers also argues that deliberateness is
not required under McDonough. See Dkt. No. 614.
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| File Size | 759.9 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.2% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
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| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:57:43.282102 |