CA: Man on death row will have case reheard by appeals court (juror misconduct)

AP on Bakersfield Californian ^ | 9/22/06 | AP

[NormsRevenge]

A federal appeals court has agreed to rehear the case of a man on death row for the murder of one woman and the kidnapping, rape and robbery of three others.

Stevie Lamar Fields, 49, argued in his appeal that one of the jurors in his trial hid the fact that his wife had been raped, and the man was unfairly biased against him.

Fields also claims that his attorney should have objected to having the man on the jury.

The decision voids a 3-0 ruling in December by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. An 11-judge panel of the same court will now hear the appeal.

Fields was convicted in 1979 of murdering 26-year-old Rosemary Cobbs, a student librarian at the University of Southern California, along with the rape and robbery of an 18-year-old USC student and two other women.

The juror said during the trial's jury selection phase that his wife had been assaulted, beaten and robbed two years earlier, but did not specify that she had been raped.

The man testified during Fields' appeal that he had been honest in his answers during jury selection, and the three-judge panel agreed with him.

[Old Grumpy]

" . . . the man was unfairly biased against him."

Actually the man was FAIRLY biased against him.

[NonValueAdded]

There is a sane 3-judge component of the 9th Circus? Whoda thunk it. Of course, the full circus would have none of that.

[samtheman]

So what about the 11 others? Their spouses were or were not raped? And they were or were not biased?

[DustyMoment]

Stevie Lamar Fields, 49, argued in his appeal that one of the jurors in his trial hid the fact that his wife had been raped, and the man was unfairly biased against him.

See, here's a problem. As long as the judicial system is willing to give these guys all these trials and even turn them loose, rather than unfairly convict an innocent person, sooner or later, every single one of us will be touched by crime and will be unable to serve on a jury. That's where these criminals are screwing themselves and the judicial system is helping them.

Frankly, I'm fed up with the endless appeals and the ways these guys find to get new trials. The toilet paper scratched their hiney, or their prison duds aren't pretty or stylish, or (insert ridiculous reason here)!!! FWIW, I think the judicial system in America is broken and it has been broken by liberaal, activist judges and liberaal politicians who use the courts to accomplish what they can't do in the Congress. It's past time to stop this crap!! Prison is about punishment, it's not an exclusive social club - that's why rich people aren't trying to buy their way IN!!!!