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sentence quashed after jurors use dictionary A thief who was sentenced to life in jail has had his conviction quashed after it turned out the jury had looked up the words intent and burglary in an old dictionary. The jurors used old dictionaries, written in the 1960s and 1970s with definitions that differ from how the words are defined in law. Washington State Court of Appeals has ruled that "by consulting home dictionaries for definitions of legal terms", this jury had committed misconduct. On the fourth day of jury deliberations, a bailiff overheard two jurors talking about having looked up "intent" in their home dictionaries. They were told not to discuss what they had learned, and deliberations continued. The bailiff then learned a third juror had been discussing with other jurors another definition for burglary that she had looked up in her dictionary. The trial judge found no reason to reverse the verdict. But the Court of Appeals has disagreed and has ordered a re-trial. "The right of trial by jury under our state constitution means a trial by an unbiased and unprejudiced jury, free of disqualifying jury misconduct," Judge Anne Ellington wrote in the decision. "A jury commits misconduct when it considers information that is outside all the evidence admitted at trial, either orally or by document." Defendant Franklin Roubideaux already had two convictions for robbery and vehicular homicide. Under the state's three-strikes law, he was sentenced to life in prison, reports Seattle Times. H "It was ludicrous to reverse on this basis," said Royce Buckingham of the Whatcom County Prosecutor's office. "It took weeks and five attorneys. The things that they looked up didn't change the outcome at all." http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_843828.html?menu=news.quirkies This article comes
from The Black Vault
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