Judge’s wife serves as juror in his court
This was legal???
Apparently so. Some googling reveals that this situation seems to happen fairly regularly.
Most recently, there was the case of Judge Thomas Ensor of Colorado whose wife served as a juror in his court. During the trial the judge repeatedly cracked jokes about the presence of his wife, such as, "Be nice to Juror 25. My dinner is on the line."
Inevitably the case was appealed, but in June 2020 the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that it was legal for Ensor's wife to be on the jury, noting that the defense lawyer could have objected to her sitting as a juror, but didn't. (Though the defense lawyer had said that he was afraid to challenge her.)
More info: ABA Journal
Macon Chronicle-Herald - Sep 8, 1989
Apparently so. Some googling reveals that this situation seems to happen fairly regularly.
Most recently, there was the case of Judge Thomas Ensor of Colorado whose wife served as a juror in his court. During the trial the judge repeatedly cracked jokes about the presence of his wife, such as, "Be nice to Juror 25. My dinner is on the line."
Inevitably the case was appealed, but in June 2020 the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that it was legal for Ensor's wife to be on the jury, noting that the defense lawyer could have objected to her sitting as a juror, but didn't. (Though the defense lawyer had said that he was afraid to challenge her.)
More info: ABA Journal
Comments
To be honest, this is very much the defense's fault. They should have objected, not just to the juror, but also to the judge. Afraid? Bull. Object to them both and kick it up to a higher court. (You might get a higher fee out of it, too...)
Posted by Richard Bos on 01/29/22 at 03:27 PM
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Category: Law | Judges