Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Defendant's Abilities to Block Retrials May Be Limited

Vacated counts may be considered when assessing what jurors decided at an earlier trial.
 
 
 
      The 1st Circuit ruled that "hung counts" are different than "vacated counts." "Hung counts," according to Yeager v. United States, 557 U.S. 110 (2009), are not to be considered when determining what the jury decided at the earlier trial. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals determined that vacated counts may be considered.
 
       The court determined that the rationale of the Yeager decision is that hung counts do not reveal anything about the jury's decision. This is because a hung jury is essentially a "nonevent." The court indicated that, "vacated decisions, unlike hung counts, are jury decisions, through which the jury has spoken."
   
      The court added to that by saying, "vacated decisions are still part of what the jurty did decide at trial. For that reason, vacated convictions on some counts do potentially bear on the question whether the jury, in acquitting on other counts, necessarily decided an issue in a manner contrary to what the government would have to prove in renewed prosecutions.
 
      The court summed up the reasoning by saying, "vacated convictions on some counts do potentially bear on the question wheter the jury, in acquitting on other counts, necessarily decided an issue in a manner contrary to what the government would have to prove in renewed prosecutions."

http://www2.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/United_States_v_BravoFernandez_No_141089_2015_BL_188297_1st_Cir_J

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