Thursday, December 27, 2007
When juries go where cops and lawyers fear to tread...
There was a story a couple of months back about a jury that actually found evidence police, prosecutors, and defense attorneys missed in a robbery case, and used that evidence to convict the defendant.
Well, it happened again. In Maryland, Moses Streete was on trial for a series of robberies. He and two other defendants were alleged to have crashed their car while fleeing the scene of the third robbery. One of the defense's arguments for Streete's acquittal was the lack of any fingerprints or cash found on the defendant at the scene, and sure enough, the prosecution didn't tender any cash or fingerprint evidence.
They did tender Streete's coat, however, and when jurors looked through it, they found some things everyone else missed - including a roll of cash and a rubber glove.
Jurors eventually convicted Streete on 13 counts, and acquitted him of 15 others. Jurors told the judge they did not consider the evidence found in the coat, after being instructed not to consider items in the coat not specifically tendered as evidence, and claim to have acquitted Streete on counts linked to the coat. Nevertheless, the judge granted Streete a new trial, at which his attorney will attempt to suppress the items found in the coat.
Well, it happened again. In Maryland, Moses Streete was on trial for a series of robberies. He and two other defendants were alleged to have crashed their car while fleeing the scene of the third robbery. One of the defense's arguments for Streete's acquittal was the lack of any fingerprints or cash found on the defendant at the scene, and sure enough, the prosecution didn't tender any cash or fingerprint evidence.
They did tender Streete's coat, however, and when jurors looked through it, they found some things everyone else missed - including a roll of cash and a rubber glove.
Jurors eventually convicted Streete on 13 counts, and acquitted him of 15 others. Jurors told the judge they did not consider the evidence found in the coat, after being instructed not to consider items in the coat not specifically tendered as evidence, and claim to have acquitted Streete on counts linked to the coat. Nevertheless, the judge granted Streete a new trial, at which his attorney will attempt to suppress the items found in the coat.
