Jury Selection

Bernard Eric Miller has lost his first effort to persuade an appellate court to overturn his conviction in the carjacking death last September of Pam Basu.The Maryland Court of Appeals, in a one-paragraph order signed Thursday, denied a petition to reverse Miller's April 23 conviction.But the ruling by Maryland's highest court ended just the first phase of the appeals process for Miller, a 17-year-old from Washington. He will be able to take his case back to the state's appellate courts after Howard Circuit Judge Dennis M. Sweeney sentences him June 29.Laurack D. Bray, who represents the teen-ager, had asked the high court to make an early ruling on the conviction.

Nothing, besides the approach of a snowstorm or a rush-hour fender-bender on the Beltway, elicits more groans from Baltimoreans than the summons to jury duty, and I'm not sure why, except that we like to bellyache about stuff. When you think about it, we're not asked to do that much as citizens - separate trash from recyclables and set them on the curb, vote every couple of years, pay our taxes on time, sit on a jury once in a great while (more frequently if you live in the city)

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court has broadened the right of criminal defendants to object to the use of race in jury selection.The 7-to-2 ruling significantly expanded on a 1986 Supreme Court decision that permitted defendants to object to the prosecution's use of peremptory challenges to exclude members of the defendant's race from a jury.The court yesterday declared in an opinion by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy that the use of racial criteria in the government's selection of a jury is unconstitutional regardless of the race of the defendant or of the excluded jurors.

I served jury duty in Baltimore City recently, an annual event and my civic duty. It's inconvenient and thankless but necessary to be sure that people get the fair treatment that they're guaranteed by the Constitution. But what about the jurors? Where's the fair treatment for them? There is little information provided about what's OK to bring in and what isn't, either on the juror web site or in the summons. Weapons are forbidden (well, duh) as are knitting needles. Crochet needles are on the list of banned items, but I wrote that off as a mistake made by someone who doesn't know that crochet requires the use of hooks that are, by definition, not pointy.

Jury selection and more pretrial motions are expected to take most – if not all – of Wednesday when the prosecution of Travers and Tremaine Johnson, twins charged with animal cruelty, resumes in a Baltimore courtroom. Much of Monday was taken up with motions on what evidence and testimony jurors will be allowed to consider. Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill ruled that a woman who identified the brothers to police can testify. In addition, prosecutors may use a statement by Travers Johnson to police as well as a city surveillance video.

Jury selection went past the normal workday in the trial of a 20-year-old man charged in the deaths of eight people who had gathered to watch an illegal street race. Authorities say Tavon Taylor and his friend were racing when they came upon a crowd watching another race in rural southern Prince George's County. The other car, driven by Darren Bullock, plowed into the spectators and ended up down an embankment with one of the victims inside. Bullock pleaded guilty last week to eight counts of vehicular manslaughter and faces 15 years in prison.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Wanda K. Heard knew it would be difficult to find a panel of jurors who hadn't heard about the case of Mark Castillo, who is charged with murder in the drowning deaths of his three children at an Inner Harbor hotel last year. But if Thursday was an indicator, it might just be impossible. Jury selection began about 10:30 a.m., when 145 people filed into Room 400 of the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse, two floors down from Heard's usual courtroom and at least two times bigger.

Today begins the process of choosing 12 Baltimore residents who will decide whether or not their mayor is a criminal. As Sheila Dixon's theft trial gets under way, jury selection is not only the curtain-raiser, but also, perhaps, the most important act, according to experts and lawyers not involved in the case. Race and politics will play critical roles, outside observers say. Dixon's defense team will want jurors who like their mayor and the work she has done, while prosecutors are apt to favor those who will dispassionately review the evidence they present, the observers say. Dixon, an African-American woman born and raised in West Baltimore, leads a majority-black, heavily Democratic city.

Jury selection will begin Wednesday for the firearms possession trial of twin brothers accused of setting fire to a pit bull in May. Travers and Tremayne Johnson, both 18, and their father, Charles Johnson, 76, were charged in June with possession of firearms and marijuana. Police say the drugs and weapons were found that month in a raid of the Johnsons' South Pulaski Street home while investigating the dog burning. Prosecutors plan to handle the firearm case before the animal cruelty charges, which drew nationwide attention.

Jury selection began Wednesday in the retrial of Travers and Tremayne Johnson, brothers accused of setting fire to a pit bull, and it was expected to be a challenge given media coverage of the case. Baltimore Circuit Judge Emanuel Brown called a pool of about 80 potential jurors, about 40 more than usual, because he expects many to be disqualified for having previous knowledge of or opinions on the case. A hung jury caused a mistrial in 2011, covered extensively in newspapers and on local television.

A panel of jurors took their seats Monday in the trial of a man accused of nearly beheading three children nine years ago. Prosecutors say Policarpio Espinoza Perez, a 31-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico, slashed the throats of three children ages 8, 9 and 10 in 2004 in a Baltimore apartment in the 7000 block of Park Heights Ave. Perez has been on trial for the murders twice before, both times with Adan Canela, 26, who is also accused of...

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold has waived his right to a jury in his criminal misconduct trial, clearing the way for attorneys to make opening statements Friday in a case that now will be heard by a single judge. The surprise move came during the second day of jury selection in the trial of Leopold, who faces charges of fraud and misconduct for allegedly using his taxpayer-funded police detail to run personal and political errands. Neither Leopold nor his attorneys explained the reason for the change of course or its timing.

The defense team for Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold is fighting prosecutors' move to block it from obtaining documents it claims would show the "same conduct" as that in criminal charges against Leopold has not been prosecuted before, showing inconsistencies in when charges are filed. The remarks come in a court filing this week in a dispute between the Office of the State Prosecutor and the defense. The defense wants material it argues goes to the heart of legal issues it is raising in the trial scheduled to begin Wednesday with jury selection.

A defense attorney for George Huguely V has filed a motion in a Charlottesville, Va., court requesting a retrial for the former University of Virginia lacrosse player convicted of second-degree murder and grand larceny in the 2010 beating death of his former girlfriend, Yeardley Love. The motion to set aside that verdict and schedule a new trial, and a memorandum in support of the motion, were filed Friday, which was the deadline. The motion questions many aspects of the February trial, including the selection and treatment of the jury - which recommended that Huguely serve a total of 26 years in prison for Love's death and the theft of her laptop - and the handling of an illness suffered by one of Huguely's attorneys during the trial.

Jury selection began Wednesday in the retrial of Travers and Tremayne Johnson, brothers accused of setting fire to a pit bull, and it was expected to be a challenge given media coverage of the case. Baltimore Circuit Judge Emanuel Brown called a pool of about 80 potential jurors, about 40 more than usual, because he expects many to be disqualified for having previous knowledge of or opinions on the case. A hung jury caused a mistrial in 2011, covered extensively in newspapers and on local television.

Opening statements in the high-profile trial of George W. Huguely V, charged with murder in the death of his former University of Virginia girlfriend, are expected Wednesday in Charlottesville Circuit Court. Attorneys plan to complete the jury selection process first thing in the morning. They spent the past two days methodically selecting potential jurors from a pool of about 160, working well beyond business hours to find objective candidates who hadn't already formed an opinion about Huguely's guilt or innocence based on media reports.

Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the second animal-cruelty trial of Travers and Tremayne Johnson, twin brothers accused of setting fire to a pit bull in 2009. Their first trial was held in February and ended in a hung jury after three days of deliberation, with 11 members voting to convict and a single holdout saying she was unsure of the brothers' guilt. They're accused of dousing a young female pit bull in accelerant in May 2009, setting her alight and leaving her for dead on a West Baltimore street.

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of John A. Wagner, a 34-year-old city man accused of killing a Johns Hopkins researcher last year. Wagner is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 23-year-old Stephen Pitcairn, who police say was robbed at knifepoint as he walked from Penn Station to his home in Charles Village the night of July 25, 2010. The killing angered the city and became a campaign issue in the race for city state's attorney. Baltimore Circuit Judge Charles J. Peters told the jury pool of 130 that he anticipated an eight-day trial that would end about Aug. 17. Choosing a jury proved challenging: More than 80 of those called Monday said they could not serve for that length of time.

One by one, potential jurors in the murder case against George W. Huguely V, who's accused of beating his former girlfriend to death when they were both University of Virginia students, took the witness stand Monday and revealed just how difficult it could be to seat an impartial jury. They'd all heard about the high-profile case, and several said they had already made up their minds. "It's obviously been discussed with my family and friends," said one young woman whose brother was a U.Va.

A Baltimore jury will hear opening statements Tuesday in a criminal case filed against a former gubernatorial aide charged with violating election laws by allegedly orchestrating a campaign to suppress black votes. The aide to former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., 55-year-old Paul Schurick, faces three counts of conspiracy and one count each of election fraud and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors accuse him of being behind anonymous, automated calls to voters made before polls closed in last year's contest between Ehrlich and Gov. Martin O'Malley to persuade Democrats, primarily blacks, to stay home.