When information or evidence that would not be admissible at trial reaches the jury, the trial judge must weigh all the circumstances and determine in his/her discretion whether or not a defendant’s right to a fair trial has been violated.  The denial of a motion for a mistrial based on alleged misconduct affecting the jury is the same as a finding by the trial judge that detrimental misconduct has NOT been shown, and the decision in an appeal will be reversed ONLY UPON a clear showing that the trial court ABUSED ITS DISCRETION.

There was a case where the jury took a dictionary into the jury room to define legal and other terms, which they did not understand. This happens.  BUT, if  the definitions explained a term that was used in one of the offenses charged in the bill of indictment, it is possible that this simple and innocent action of wanting to “look-it-up” (like mom always said) is considered juror misconduct and GROUNDS FOR AN APPEAL.

If the jury took that dictionary into the jury room and looked up terms that did not specifically concern the defendant or the evidence presented in the case, then it is possible that this simple act is NOT GROUNDS FOR AN APPEAL.

As you can see, it can get really complicated very quickly.

Throughout the United States, judges can adhere to a simple rule regarding dictionaries, that a jury’s unauthorized consultation of a dictionary constitutes consideration of extraneous (external) information under Rule 606(b).  Some judges believe that a jury’s consultation of a dictionary violates a defendant’s constitutional rights under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments.  These Amendments must be present at every stage of the defendants trial and to a trial by fair and impartial jurors.

The problem with dictionaries is that depending on which one you consult, you could get an answer that is prejudiced or shows bias,  depending on the editor.  Some dictionary’s have a reputation for being bias.  And judges know this.

When a juror has been exposed to some kind of media, whether it was a television, radio, notes from the prosecutor without being admitted into evidence, newspaper, magazine – even a bible or dictionary – (in certain circumstances) this could be valid grounds for an appeal.

Whether this discovery was before or after the verdict will dictate different strategies for the appeal.  And whether or not the judge was made aware of this above mentioned exposure will dictate a particular strategy for appeal as well.  And, if the judge was made aware of the exposure, and his/her decision as whether or not your right to a fair trial was violated, will also dictate strategy for (or not-for) an appeal.

Remember, a fundamental element of a criminal defendant’s constitutional right to confront witnesses and evidence against him or her is that a jury’s verdict MUST be based on evidence PRODUCED at trial, NOT on external evidence that has escaped the rules of evidence, supervision of the court, and other procedural safeguards of a fair trial

We’ve gone over an exhaustive list of examples that would warrant an appeal.  One of the examples was “juror misconduct”.  The topic of juror misconduct is massive.  There is almost no end of possibilities that could indicate juror misconduct.

What’s interesting about juror misconduct is that we can all relate to it, even if you’ve never been a juror and never will be.  Juror misconduct is all about human nature, something that we all know about.

If you have a substantial reason to fear that somehow the jury became aware of some kind of information that is detrimental to you winning your case, and the judge dismissed your fears, after your lawyer pointed them out properly in court, you might have VALID GROUNDS FOR AN APPEAL.  You could be the “1 in 5″ cases to win an appeal (lower courts decision is reversed).

The only way to find out is to consult an attorney.  Not just any attorney.  You will hear and read about “…only hiring appellate attorneys…”.  Not a really good idea.  If you are involved in a criminal case, it is prudent to hire A CRIMINAL ATTORNEY WITH SOUND EXPERIENCE IN APPELLATE LAW.

Juror misconduct is grounds for an appeal.  Behavior that would warrant the title of “juror misconduct” would be if a juror was drunk or on drugs during deliberations or trial.

Also, if there was improper communicatons between jurors and witnesses or counsel, for instance if the jurors talked freely amongst themselves about the case OUTSIDE of the jury room, AFTER deliberations began-this would be juror misconduct and grounds for an appeal.

If a juror(s) talked to some one else or allowed some one else to talk with them or in their PRESENCE about the case and DID NOT REPORT THIS to the judge IMMEDIATELY — even the slightest attempt at communication:  a wink, a nod, a body movement – a communication written, electronically communicated, spoken or gestured in any way — is grounds for an appeal.

If a juror(s) has formed an opinion about the guilt or innocence of the defendant, or has expressed any opinion about the case until the deliberations began IS GROUNDS FOR APPEAL.

If a juror(s) has read, watched or listened to accounts of the trial, THIS IS GROUNDS FOR APPEAL.

If a juror(s) has talked during trial to parties, witnesses or counsel or has engaged in some form of “subrosa” communication, THIS IS GROUNDS FOR APPEAL.

The fun part for an appellate attorney, is to pick apart the propensity for human error on the part of the juror.  We are just waiting for them to blow it.  These are not easy rules to follow for a juror.  These rules  go against every natural tendency we humans have.  An experienced criminal defense attorney, skilled in the art of appellate law,  will be on the look out for these kinds of errors made by jurors, given the almost un-human task of being jury to your trial.

Criminal defendants often appeal their cases when they feel that they were not provided with adequate representation.   This is called an “ineffective assistance of counsel claim”.  To succeed at this claim, a defendant’s appellate attorney must prove that but for their counsel’s actions in the original trial, they would have won the case.

Other reasons for grounds for appeal would be:

1. legal error
2. juror misconduct
3. judicial misconduct
4. false arrest
5. improperly admitted evidence
6. evidence that was excluded
7. incorrect jury instructions
8. sentencing errors
9. improper use of objections
10. lack of sufficient evidence to support a guilty verdict
11. protests made during the course of a proceeding that an action taken by the opposing side in a controversy is UNFAIR or ILLEGAL

We’ve gone over the descriptors required by California Law to be used by law enforcement when entering you and your arrest particulars into “the system”.  Two things I would like to clarify about this:

1.  I cited 19 descriptors that are unique to you, that are supposed to be used, “…when applicable and available.”

(http://www.leginfo.ca.gov)

The situation where these some of these types of detailed descriptors are not applicable to be gathered and put into the system would be when a person is getting fingerprinted for a professional license, or for possible employment, or for work.

2.  The recording agency – a data entry clerk that is in a separate division of the police department or other law enforcement agency has 3 days (72 hours) to put this information in the system – not including weekends or holidays.  So, if you are jailed by mistake it could be at least a week or up to 1-9 months before the a.) mistake is found and b.) the paper work is generated for your release.

However long you sit in that jail cell for a wrongful incarceration you could be compensated for loss of work, and for pain and suffering.  This is especially true if the wrongfully arrested person got injured or sick while in being detained in error.  Call an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.

WRONGFULLY ARRESTED PEOPLE MAY BE ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION.

By California Law, (California Penal Code Sections 13125-1328), “All basic information stored in state or local criminal offender record information systems shall be recorded, when applicable and available, in the form of the following STANDARD DATA ELEMENTS:”

Name–(full name)

Aliases

Monikers (nicknames)

Race

Sex

Date of birth

Place of birth

Height

Weight

Hair color

Eye color

CII number

FBI number

Social security number

California operators license number

Fingerprint classification number

Henry

NCIC

Address

And all arrest data, current and old.

Currently in the State of California, if you were wrongfully arrested and sat in jail for any amount of time, it is NOT a violation of any Constitutional Rights — IF THE ARREST WAS REASONABLE, i.e. there was a warrant.  This completely releases police from an accountability.

What is unreasonable about a wrongful arrest because of same-name-confusion, is that with all the descriptors available at the police officers fingertips – with just a click of the mouse – they are not being USED to obtain the correct suspect.  This is when you need a lawyer specializing in mistaken-identity arrests.

CII Number stands for Criminal Identification Index.  It is an alpha/numeric number assigned by the DOJ when a person first gets fingerprinted.  This number becomes attached to your legal name after an arrest and fingerprinting.  The CII number  stays with you for no more than 100 years from the date when it was given.

 If you were arrested and fingerprinted in California, during that time, your fingerprints were electronically sent to the Department of Justice, and within minutes, the DOJ electronically reports back to whichever police department you are in with information on whether or not you have a CII Number.  If you do not have one, you will now.

Not all fingerprint records are from criminal activity or arrests.  People get fingerprints for possible employment or to obtain a professional license, like say for a doctor or a pilot.  In this event, the number corresponding to these types of fingerprints is still a CII number, but the alpha/numerical sequence will be different than that of an arrest and booking.

When a warrant for arrest is issued, the CII Number corresponding to the suspect named in the warrant is not always included on the warrant.  If you’ve been wrongfully arrested for same-name-confusion, then, after your fingerprinting, there’s really no obvious information indicating that you are not the person in the warrant.

  CII Number stands for Criminal Identification Index.  It is an alpha/numeric number assigned by the DOJ when a person first gets fingerprinted.  This number becomes attached to your legal name after an arrest and fingerprinting.  The CII number  stays with you for no more than 100 years from the date when it was given.

  If you were arrested and fingerprinted in California, during that time, your fingerprints were electronically sent to the Department of Justice, and within minutes, the DOJ electronically reports back to whichever police department you are in with information on whether or not you have a CII Number.  If you do not have one, you will now.

Not all fingerprint records are from criminal activity or arrests.  People get fingerprints for possible employment or to obtain a professional license, like say for a doctor or a pilot.  In this event, the number corresponding to these types of fingerprints is still a CII number, but the alpha/numerical sequence will be different than that of an arrest and booking.

When a warrant for arrest is issued, the CII Number corresponding to the suspect named in the warrant is not always included on the warrant.  If you’ve been wrongfully arrested for same-name-confusion, then, after your fingerprinting, there’s really no obvious information indicating that you are not the person in the warrant.

When an arresting officer gathers descriptors about a criminal, the information gets distributed to different divisions withing the Department.  The information is supposed to be uploaded to a National Database managed by a division of the FBI.  Is it that sometimes this information for some reason does not get uploaded to the national database?

If that happens, then no other Law Enforcement Agency will have access to the particular descriptors of, for example, John Smith with a mole on his left facial cheek.  In order to understand why some one has been arrested in error because of mistaken-identity or same name confusion, it is important to search for holes or weak spots in the process.

Cases are being won every year of hundreds of thousands of dollars in favor of private citizens because police are detaining innocent people as a result of mistaken identity.

If you have been wrongfully jailed, you can be compensated.  Your defense attorney will launch a thorough investigation on your behalf to help you recoup the loss of money from not being able to work, and possibly to recoup punitive damages as well.