United States v. Boney

97 F. Supp. 2d 1, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5646, 2000 WL 530301
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedFebruary 18, 2000
DocketNo. 89-381 EGS
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 97 F. Supp. 2d 1 (United States v. Boney) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Boney, 97 F. Supp. 2d 1, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5646, 2000 WL 530301 (D.D.C. 2000).

Opinion

[2]*2 MEMORANDUM OPINION

SULLIVAN, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

This matter is before the Court on remand from the D.C. Circuit pursuant to its decisions in United States v. Boney, 977 F.2d 624 (D.C.Cir.1992), (“Boney I”), and United States v. Boney, 68 F.3d 497 (D.C.Cir.1996), (“Boney II ”). In Boney II the Circuit Court directed the District Court to conduct a second post-trial evi-dentiary hearing to determine whether defendant was prejudiced by the jury foreman’s failure to disclose his felon status during defendant’s trial. The original judge who had presided over the trial and remand after Boney I, recused himself after the second remand and the case was randomly reassigned to Judge Emmet G. Sullivan by the U.S. District Court’s Calendar Committee pursuant to Local Rule 403(a).

In 1991 defendant Jermaine Boney was convicted of distribution of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute more than five grams of cocaine. After the jury returned the verdict but prior to sentencing, the prosecutor confirmed a tip from counsel for co-defendant Donald Holloman that the foreman of the jury (“the Juror”) had failed to disclose a grand larceny conviction in San Francisco, California, on the jury questionnaire form and during voir dire.

On appeal, defendant maintained that the presence of a felon on the jury violated his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury. The Circuit Court affirmed defendant’s conviction on all grounds with the exception of the juror-bias claim and “remand[ed the] case for the District Court to hold an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the [J]uror’s failure to disclose his felon status resulted in actual bias to [defendant].” Boney I, 977 F.2d at 635. On remand, the District Court conducted a post-trial evidentiary hearing and ruled that the Juror’s failure to disclose his felon status did not result in actual bias to defendant. Thus, the District Court denied defendant’s motion for a new trial. See Boney II, 68 F.3d at 501. In Boney II the Circuit Court held that the District Court’s evidentiary hearing was insufficient to determine the potential biases of the Juror and remanded the case for the District Court to hold a second post-trial evidentia-ry hearing. Id. at 503. At the second hearing the government argued that defendant was not unfairly prejudiced by the Juror’s presence and that the Juror’s prior criminal history did not impact the jury’s deliberations. Defendant reasserted his claim of juror bias.

Upon consideration of the testimony, evidence, and arguments of counsel presented during defendant’s second evidentiary hearing, this Court concludes that defendant has not clearly demonstrated that the Juror’s lack of qualifications presented bias or prejudice, actual or inferred, “affecting the [J]uror’s impartiality and impacting the fairness of the trial.” United States v. Humphreys, 982 F.2d 254, 261 (8th Cir.1992). Accordingly, defendant was not deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury, and defendant’s motion for a new trial is DENIED.

I. BACKGROUND

In 1991 defendant Jermaine Boney and co-defendant Donald Holloman were convicted of drug trafficking pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 841(1). After being tipped that the jury foreman was a felon, Boney and Holloman appealed their convictions on grounds of jury bias. On appeal, the Circuit Court affirmed defendants’ convictions but remanded the case to the district court to hold an “evidentiary hearing to determine whether [the J]uror’s failure to disclose his felon status resulted in actual bias against the [defendants].” Boney I, 977 F.2d at 637.

On remand, counsel for both parties submitted proposed questions to the Court that were intended to expose evidence of actual bias to defendant. The District [3]*3Court then held a hearing but posed only those questions to the Juror that the Court found to be relevant and admissible under Fed.R.Evid. 606.1

The District Court concluded that the Juror’s failure to “disclose his felon status did not result in actual bias to the defendants.” Boney II, 68 F.3d at 501 (citation omitted). The District Court then denied Boney’s motion for a new trial and his motion for reconsideration of the decision not to ask several of his proposed questions. Boney appealed those rulings to the Circuit Court.2

On appeal, the Circuit Court held that: (1) at the hearing to determine whether defendant was biased by the Juror’s denial of his felon status, the District Court’s questions to the Juror were insufficient to reveal any prejudice that might have affected jury deliberations; (2) defense counsel was entitled to cross-examine the Juror at the evidentiary hearing; and (3) the trial court could inquire as to whether the Juror’s felon status was mentioned during jury deliberations and what circumstances might have surrounded such a disclosure, without violating Fed.R.Evid. 606(b). See id. at 502-03.

Following the second remand, the original trial judge recused himself from further proceedings, and now this matter and the underlying issues come before this Court on defendant’s renewed motion for a new trial. After receiving briefs and proposed questions from counsel for the parties, the Court conducted a second eviden-tiary hearing.

Testimony at the evidentiary hearing revealed that the Juror had pleaded nolo contendere to a charge of grand larceny in San Francisco in 1985 and served nine months of a one-year sentence, which was followed by a term of probation. The Juror was still on probation when he completed the Juror Qualification Questionnaire but omitted this conviction. The Juror vaguely recalled mentioning his felon status to an individual in the Jury Office on the day of trial but remembered only being asked to return to the jury room. The Juror failed to disclose his felony conviction during voir dire and was later impaneled as a member of defendants’ jury.

II. DISCUSSION

The Court begins its analysis by discussing both the manner in which it conducted the second post-trial evidentiary hearing and the sufficiency of its inquiry. The Court will then examine the Juror’s testimony and consider its relevance to the establishment of actual bias. Next, the Court will consider what evidence exists, if any, from which bias against defendant might be inferred. Of particular concern are questions raised by defendant regarding the Juror’s credibility and his prior history of untruthfulness on the subject of his felony conviction. The Court will then address defendant’s renewed request to poll the jury panel in defendant’s criminal trial before finally determining if defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights were prejudiced sufficiently to warrant a new trial.

A.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Young
District of Columbia, 2024
United States v. Kelly
District of Columbia, 2023
Conference America v. Telecom. Co-Op
885 So. 2d 772 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
97 F. Supp. 2d 1, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5646, 2000 WL 530301, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-boney-dcd-2000.