People v. Lavender
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendants were convicted of kidnapping, first degree murder, and torture. Defendants filed a motion for new trial, asserting that that the jurors improperly discussed and considered during their deliberations Defendants’ decisions not to testify. The Court of Appeal reversed the convictions and ordered a new trial, concluding that the discussion of Defendants’ decisions not to testify constituted misconduct and the misconduct was categorically prejudicial, even assuming the foreperson had promptly and correctly reminded the jury of the court’s instructions to disregard Defendants’ decisions not to testify. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the Court of Appeal erred in finding the presumption of prejudice could not be rebutted even if the jurors had been reminded of the court’s instructions not to consider that issue and no objective evidence indicted the reminder would have been ineffective. Remanded to the trial court to determine the nature and scope of the misconduct and the existence and timing of any reminder of the court’s instructions to disregard Defendants’ decisions not to testify.
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