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Extracted Text (OCR)
Case 22-1426, Document 87, 07/27/2023, 3548202, Page24 of 35
granted a challenge for cause of the juror had he given truthful answers, is an abuse
of discretion. Demonstrated bias in the responses to questions in voir dire may result
in a juror being excused for cause. The necessity of truthful answers by prospective
jurors is obvious, if this process is to serve its purpose. The failure to provide truthful
answers is itself a proper challenge for cause.
After the hearing, the court held that the juror was entitled to use his “life
experiences” in deliberations, even though the life experiences mirrored testimony
at trial and were particular to the charges against Maxwell. But "[w]hen a juror has
life experiences that correspond with evidence presented during trial, that
congruence raises obvious concerns about the juror's possible [implied or inferred]
bias." U.S. v. Torres, 128 F.3d at 47-48; see Burton v. Johnson, 948 F.2d 1150, 1158-
59 (10th Cir. 1991). That bias went unexplored at the hearing resulting in the failure
of the Court to take proper steps to screen the juror for bias after the verdict.
A conviction will only be reversed if the District Court abused its discretion
by incorporating an error of law, or resting its decision on a clearly erroneous factual
finding. Here, both the Court’s finding that Juror 50 was credible (a clearly
erroneous factual finding), and its ruling that Juror 50’s truthful answers during voir
dire would not have established a valid basis for cause (an error of law), meet that
standard for abuse of discretion.
DOJ-OGR-00021766
Extracted Information
Dates
Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00021766.jpg |
| File Size | 654.0 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 95.3% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 1,597 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 20:16:57.034180 |