Finally...Justice

Hello Everyone--

Yes, it has been another long gap since I have posted anything--sorry.  Suffice to say I have been busy both with work, and with family--but let's get on with more exciting news!  

Kareem Lane was finally found Not Guilty by a jury in Columbus, GA, for the tragic murder of school superintendent Jim Burns.  

• I say finally, because this was a cold case prosecution for a murder that happened in 1992.  
• I say finally because this was the second time Mr. Lane had been tried for this case.  In 2012 the jury had deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquittal.  
• I say finally because Mr. Lane was arrested for this crime in 2009.  He was incarcerated for two and a half years, from the time of his arrest until the end of the first trial.  
• I say finally because the prosecution sat on this for another year+ before finally deciding this January to retry Mr. Lane.  
• I say finally because due to this case, Mr. Lane and his wife Carol have been unable to live anything approximating a normal life for over 5 years.  

If you have read some of my entries from 2012, you know that I played an active (albeit small, pro bono) role in Mr. Lane's defense.  Although I am not normally a criminal defense lawyer, I was uniquely situated to assist GA attorney Stacey Jackson defend Mr. Lane and fight this injustice.  In doing so, I became very familiar with the (lack of) evidence against Mr. Lane, and I was shocked that the DA's office even considered bringing this to trial.    

There's an expression that "Justice Deferred is Justice Denied."  I think that there is a lot of truth to that.  Mr. Lane, his wife, his entire family have had to live with this burden for years.  There is no doubt that this case has forever changed the course of his life.  However, I have to say that after 5 years of fighting, to finally hear the words "Not Guilty" was awfully sweet to me.  I can only imagine how it felt for the Lane family!  Justice may have been deferred for far too long, but in the end Mr. Lane was finally vindicated.  He can go home.      

Unfortunately this case will not draw much media attention outside of Columbus, GA.  This is a shame.  This is such a ridiculous example of prosecutorial overreach, perhaps even misconduct?  I know that is a strong assertion, and winning such a case is terribly difficult, but I have many reasons for saying this.  Perhaps this shall be topic of another blog entry?  Regardless of whether I ever decide to grind that ax publicly, I am happy to say that finally, after 5+ long years, an innocent man walks free.  I am so glad that I saw justice served.  Finally!  

Deadlocked

So the case is over, all of the testimony has been given. The evidence has been submitted, closing arguments are over, and the case has gone to the jury. They may deliberate for an hour, a day, even a week, but at least you will have resolution right? As Lee Corso might say, "Not so fast!"

There is always the possibility of a deadlocked jury. This is fairly uncommon, but what does it really mean in a real-world sense? There is certainly no definitive result: no conviction, no acquittal. In civil trials it is not uncommon to have less than unanimity, but with criminal trials most jurisdictions require 12-0 either to acquit or convict. Of course, even that isn't true, and there is a significant line of cases that suggests that under the right circumstances, a less than unanimous verdict can still achieve either conviction or acquittal. I won't go into all of those details now.

What is interesting is what happens when there is a deadlocked jury. Some jurisdictions allow an "Allen" charge to try and break up the deadlock. This is an admonishment from the judge for the jury to really, really try and achieve a result. The idea is that the parties have presented their best case, there is no reason to believe that retrying this case will result in anything substantially different, and there is no reason to believe that a new jury wouldn't have the same issues as they (the jury) are having. "Punting" the issue of guilt or innocence to 12 new people is an abdication of their duty.

The case I have been working on just resulted in a mistrial. The jury voted 10-2 in favor of acquittal. While this was somewhat gratifying in the sense that most of the jurors voted our way, it wasn't a complete victory. Now, the defendant faces the possibility of a retrial. We may have to do this all over again. He still is not "free," and won't be until the State drops the charges entirely. In fact, he is not even free in the literal sense. The bond reduction hearing is today. So, a man who has been in jail for 2.5 years awaiting his day in court now waits another day, because 10-2 is NOT 12-0. As defense counsel said, "it was a dry run." Nothing more.

And that is a mistrial...