Chain
06-17-2004, 04:54 PM
[color=red]Not only is the perp's NAME not mentioned, but there is not a single word about HIS being arrested or prosecuted![/color]
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal...local-headlines (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-ho.owens17jun17,0,2137412.story?coll=bal-local-headlines)
Juror's citizenship status questioned in murder trial
Issue may jeopardize verdict in Howard case
By Lisa Goldberg
Sun Staff
Originally published June 17, 2004
Howard County court officials are trying to determine whether one of the jurors who convicted a 33-year-old Columbia man last week of murdering his 2-year- old stepson is not a U.S. citizen, a situation that several legal experts said could jeopardize the verdict.
The questions about the juror's citizenship surfaced the morning after the panel returned guilty verdicts for second-degree murder, child abuse and assault charges against Marcus D. Owens in the fatal beating of Kevonte Davis
[COLOR=Red]
OK, hold it right here. This is a whole nother story. Check out how this Baltimore TV station has lyingly inserted this graphic of a White boy's head. You telling me killer Dad Marcus and son "Kevonte" of Baltimore, Maryland are White? [/COLOR]
http://wjz.com/localstories/local_story_163180027.html
http://images.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_sizedimage_161125859/lg
July 30, court officials said this week. Under state law, a juror must be "constitutionally qualified to vote," and citizenship is a requirement of voter registration.
Jury Commissioner Steve Merson said that after receiving a message from the juror, he alerted the trial judge, Howard Circuit Judge Diane O. Leasure, who immediately set a hearing in the case for tomorrow.
On his information form, which requires a sworn signature, the juror checked off that he was "qualified" to serve, Merson said yesterday.
"I think this is just an oversight. It wasn't intentional," he said. "These things happen."
Reached at home this week, the juror said he did not want to comment.
Leasure said she hopes to determine at the hearing whether "an issue does exist," and if one does, what effect it could have on the verdict. She said she could not elaborate on the case, and attorneys for both sides would say only that they are researching what one legal expert called a "unique question."
But law professors in Maryland said that an unqualified juror could cause problems with the verdict. By law, it takes 12 unanimous jurors to convict someone of a crime, and when one is not qualified to serve, that leaves 11 jurors, said Abraham A. Dash, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law.
"An illegal jury could not reach a verdict," he said. "I don't see any way they can get around it."
Fact-finding hearing
Defense attorneys said the remedy is an obvious one - a new trial. Deputy Public Defender Louis P. Willemin, one of Owens' attorneys, said Friday's hearing is for fact-finding, and "the rest will happen later."
"There may be a legal issue there, and we'll see what it is," Willemin said.
The question of qualification became trickier after the motor vehicle rolls were added to the voter rolls as a source of jurors, one jury commissioner said. Howard County began using the motor vehicle database in 1995; state law officially added the list to the jury pool in 2001.
Citizenship is not a requirement for a license, and although the Motor Vehicle Administration weeds out 16- and 17-year- old drivers from the list it compiles for the counties, it does not do the same with noncitizens, said Nancy Galvin, the jury commissioner for Montgomery County. Jurors must be at least 18.
"We just have to question more people, and it's more work for us to get people who are qualified for jury service," she said.
Requirements
In addition to citizenship and age, a juror must also meet residency requirements, have an understanding of English and be healthy enough to serve. Jurors also cannot be a party to a civil suit in the county that has summoned them or have criminal convictions or pending charges carrying more than six months in jail or a $500 fine.
In the aftermath of the past week's events, Leasure said, she expects she will ask more questions about eligibility when jurors are questioned during selection.
"Obviously, this has given me cause for concern going forward," she said.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal...local-headlines (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-ho.owens17jun17,0,2137412.story?coll=bal-local-headlines)
Juror's citizenship status questioned in murder trial
Issue may jeopardize verdict in Howard case
By Lisa Goldberg
Sun Staff
Originally published June 17, 2004
Howard County court officials are trying to determine whether one of the jurors who convicted a 33-year-old Columbia man last week of murdering his 2-year- old stepson is not a U.S. citizen, a situation that several legal experts said could jeopardize the verdict.
The questions about the juror's citizenship surfaced the morning after the panel returned guilty verdicts for second-degree murder, child abuse and assault charges against Marcus D. Owens in the fatal beating of Kevonte Davis
[COLOR=Red]
OK, hold it right here. This is a whole nother story. Check out how this Baltimore TV station has lyingly inserted this graphic of a White boy's head. You telling me killer Dad Marcus and son "Kevonte" of Baltimore, Maryland are White? [/COLOR]
http://wjz.com/localstories/local_story_163180027.html
http://images.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_sizedimage_161125859/lg
July 30, court officials said this week. Under state law, a juror must be "constitutionally qualified to vote," and citizenship is a requirement of voter registration.
Jury Commissioner Steve Merson said that after receiving a message from the juror, he alerted the trial judge, Howard Circuit Judge Diane O. Leasure, who immediately set a hearing in the case for tomorrow.
On his information form, which requires a sworn signature, the juror checked off that he was "qualified" to serve, Merson said yesterday.
"I think this is just an oversight. It wasn't intentional," he said. "These things happen."
Reached at home this week, the juror said he did not want to comment.
Leasure said she hopes to determine at the hearing whether "an issue does exist," and if one does, what effect it could have on the verdict. She said she could not elaborate on the case, and attorneys for both sides would say only that they are researching what one legal expert called a "unique question."
But law professors in Maryland said that an unqualified juror could cause problems with the verdict. By law, it takes 12 unanimous jurors to convict someone of a crime, and when one is not qualified to serve, that leaves 11 jurors, said Abraham A. Dash, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law.
"An illegal jury could not reach a verdict," he said. "I don't see any way they can get around it."
Fact-finding hearing
Defense attorneys said the remedy is an obvious one - a new trial. Deputy Public Defender Louis P. Willemin, one of Owens' attorneys, said Friday's hearing is for fact-finding, and "the rest will happen later."
"There may be a legal issue there, and we'll see what it is," Willemin said.
The question of qualification became trickier after the motor vehicle rolls were added to the voter rolls as a source of jurors, one jury commissioner said. Howard County began using the motor vehicle database in 1995; state law officially added the list to the jury pool in 2001.
Citizenship is not a requirement for a license, and although the Motor Vehicle Administration weeds out 16- and 17-year- old drivers from the list it compiles for the counties, it does not do the same with noncitizens, said Nancy Galvin, the jury commissioner for Montgomery County. Jurors must be at least 18.
"We just have to question more people, and it's more work for us to get people who are qualified for jury service," she said.
Requirements
In addition to citizenship and age, a juror must also meet residency requirements, have an understanding of English and be healthy enough to serve. Jurors also cannot be a party to a civil suit in the county that has summoned them or have criminal convictions or pending charges carrying more than six months in jail or a $500 fine.
In the aftermath of the past week's events, Leasure said, she expects she will ask more questions about eligibility when jurors are questioned during selection.
"Obviously, this has given me cause for concern going forward," she said.