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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document643_ Filed 03/11/22 Page 15 of 49
See Warger v. Shauers, 574 U.S. 40, 44 (2014). This rule promotes “the public interest in
maintaining both the finality of verdicts and full and free discussion within the confines of the jury
room.” United States v. Radonjich, 1 F.3d 117, 120 (2d Cir. 1993).
B. Discussion
Based on the current record, the defendant has failed to satisfy either prong of the
McDonough test. However, the Government consents to a limited hearing, as set forth in more
detail in Part II, infra.
1. The Defendant Has Failed to Satisfy the First Prong of McDonough
a. The Defendant Must Prove a Deliberate Falsehood
The defendant argues that, under the McDonough test, “[a]n intentionally false answer
during voir dire is not a prerequisite to obtaining a new trial.” (Def. Mem. at 23). This argument
is foreclosed by binding Second Circuit precedent, which requires “dishonesty,” i.e., a deliberate
falsehood or deceit, rather than an honest mistake. Shaoul, 41 F.3d at 815-16. “In other words,
the Court must assess whether [the juror] deliberately lied or consciously deceived the Court, as
opposed to providing inaccurate responses as a result of a mistake, misunderstanding or
embarrassment.” United States v. Nix, 275 F. Supp. 3d 420, 437 (W.D.N.Y. 2017) (citing Shaoul,
41 F.3d at 815), aff'd sub nom. United States v. McCoy, 995 F.3d 32 (2d Cir. 2021). That rule
exists for good reason: “To invalidate the result of a three-week trial because of a juror’s mistaken,
though honest response to a question, is to insist on something closer to perfection than our judicial
system can be expected to give.” McDonough, 464 U.S. at 555.
In Shaoul, the Second Circuit considered McDonough and, specifically, its holding “‘that
to obtain a new trial in. . . a situation [where a juror makes a mistaken response to a question], a
party must first demonstrate that a juror failed to answer honestly a material question on voir dire,
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| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00009813.jpg |
| File Size | 685.7 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 93.8% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,003 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:50:37.788262 |