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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 642 Filed 03/11/22 Page 45 of 66
district court did not err in inferring bias. /d. at 47-48. “Given the similarity of Juror No.
7’s structuring activity to the conduct alleged against appellant Devery in this case, it was
reasonable for Judge Preska to conclude that the average person in Juror No. 7’s position
might have felt personally threatened.” Jd. at 48. Although the Court in Torres declined
to define the “precise scope of a trial judge’s discretion to infer bias,” Judge Calabresi
further explained:
It is enough for the present to note that cases in which a juror has engaged in
activities that closely approximate those of the defendant on trial are
particularly apt. The exercise of the trial judge’s discretion to grant
challenges for cause on the basis of inferred bias is especially appropriate
in such situations.
Id. at 47 (emphasis added).
Just as it is “especially appropriate” for a court to infer bias when a potential juror
has engaged in “activities that closely approximate those of the defendant on trial,” so too
is it “especially appropriate” for a court to infer bias when a potential juror has been
subject to conduct “that closely approximate[d] [that] of the defendant on trial.” See id. In
such a case, there 1s just too great a risk that such a juror will not be able to decide the
case purely based on the applicable law and the evidence or lack of evidence, even
though that inability may be unconscious. This is one such case.
3. Actual bias
“Actual bias is ‘bias in fact’—the existence of a state of mind that leads to an
inference that the person will not act with entire impartiality.” Torres, 128 F.3d at 43
(citing United States v. Wood, 299 U.S. 123, 133 (1936)). “A juror is found by the judge
to be partial either because the juror admits partiality, or the judge finds actual partiality
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00009737.jpg |
| File Size | 691.7 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.6% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 1,898 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:49:49.948879 |