SCOTUSblog reports:
A Colorado man who was required to register as a sex offender after being convicted of unlawful sexual contact with two teenage girls will get a shot at a new trial, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled today. Miguel Peña-Rodriguez had asked a state trial court for a new trial after two jurors told his lawyers that a third juror had made racially biased remarks about Peña-Rodriguez and his main witness, who are both Hispanic. But the state trial court rejected Peña-Rodriguez's request, citing a state evidentiary rule that generally bars jurors from testifying about statements made during deliberations that might call the verdict into question. In a major ruling on juror bias and fair trials, the Supreme Court reversed that holding by a vote of 5-3 and sent Peña-Rodriguez's case back to the lower courts for them to consider the two jurors' testimony for the first time.
Supreme Court's decision in Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado.
Also at Reuters, NYT, NPR, USA Today, and Bloomberg.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday March 09 2017, @07:03PM
If there wasn't a substantial effect on the decision, then the re-trial will find the same result.
After wasting the taxpayers and parties involved a lot of time and money.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"