State v. Veal
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The Supreme Court conditionally affirmed Defendant's conviction of two counts of first-degree murder while remanding the case for further proceedings consistent with State v. Lilly, __ N.W.2d __ (Iowa 2019), also decided today, holding that further consideration of Defendant's claim of violation of his right to an impartial jury drawn from a fair cross section of the community was warranted.
Defendant was an African-American. Although the jury venire contained five African-Americans, no African-American was seated on the jury that heard Defendant's case. On appeal, Defendant asserted a number of trial-related issues, including the claim that his jury was not drawn from a fair cross section of the community in violation of the Sixth Amendment. The Supreme Court held (1) as in Lilly, the appropriate course of action is to remand the case to offer Defendant a further opportunity to develop his arguments that his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury was violated; and (2) Defendant's remaining claims did not warrant reversal.
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