People v. Armstrong

by
After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of three counts of first degree murder, two counts of premeditated attempted murder, and other crimes. The jury returned death verdicts as to all three murders, and the trial court sentenced Defendant to death. During guilt phase deliberations, the trial court discharged a juror for refusing to deliberate. On appeal, Defendant argued that the court erred in dismissing the juror. The Supreme Court reversed the judgment in its entirety, holding (1) because there was not a “demonstrable reality” that there was good cause to discharge the juror, the court abused its discretion in removing the juror; and (2) the error was prejudicial and required reversal of the judgment. View "People v. Armstrong" on Justia Law