Jury’s Racial Bias Can Be Probed After Trial, Supreme Court Rules
- Court’s 5-3 ruling could mean new trial in groping case
- Kennedy says racial bias ‘antithetical’ to jury system
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The U.S. Supreme Court opened the way for greater post-trial scrutiny of jury verdicts in criminal cases, ruling that judges can consider evidence that a juror made racially biased comments during deliberations.
In a 5-3 decision Monday, the justices said a criminal defendant’s constitutional right to a fair trial outweighed the traditional rule that a jury’s deliberations are secret.