Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Godoy v. Spearman (9th Cir. - Aug. 25, 2016)

Judge O'Scannlain authors the majority opinion, which Judge Bybee joins.  Judge Fisher dissents, the opening paragraph of which reads:

"When a sitting juror is alleged to have continuously texted a judge friend about the trial and relayed the judge’s information to the jury, the majority concludes the trial court need not investigate further – and the jury verdict would not violate due process. I disagree."

When you can write that type of concise summary of the majority opinion's holding, you're doing pretty well for yourself.

Expect to see an en banc vote.