Frequently Asked Questions
How does the case get back into court? Is it presented by the Conviction Integrity Group?
We primarily work with inmates whose appeals are either completely or mostly exhausted. The Conviction Integrity Group will complete an exhaustive background check on all the jury members in your case. We then compile the information we find for you to take to your attorney. Your attorney would then file a motion for a new trial based on the information we find. At that point, we work with your attorney to make sure they have all of the information they need to make the motion. At the request of your counsel, one of our Private Investigators may be called to testify.
Does the family need to provide documents to get started with the process?
It is easier and cheaper if the inmate or their family provide copies of documents we need. There is a document collection fee that can range from a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars for us to collect the documents. This depends on whether or not the jury questionnaires are public record, or if we have to hire an attorney in your state to subpoena the documents.
Why isn't this used more often if juror bias is a violation of your 6th Amendment?
If you are convicted of murder of a police officer, and one of the jurors is married to a police officer, that could be a reason for your counsel to dismiss the juror for bias. However, if that juror answered on their questionnaire that no one in their family is a police officer, this is an example of a violation of the 6th Amendment. Motions for a new trial based on jury bias is a very complicated procedure and not all appellate attorneys are familiar with the process. In addition to that, Juror bias is usually used only as a last resort because the information can be subjective. In the previous example, a judge could rule that this juror may have lied on their questionnaire, but maintain that the juror could have remained unbiased. Whereas a different judge in a different court could rule completely differently on the same set of circumstances. We always caution that while this is a means to try and get back into court, it is in no way guaranteed to work.
How will I know if you can help my loved one?
Our services are guaranteed. We guarantee that we will find information of jury bias. If we do not, you only owe us half the fee to compensate for our time and diligence in compiling the information. Whether or not the bias information we find is helpful to your loved one or not is up to your attorney, and ultimately the judge.
Does an inmate have to be innocent for you to work on their case?
No, absolutely not. The Constitution of the United States guarantees everyone a fair trial by an impartial jury of their peers. This means that everyone, innocent or guilty, deserves to be treated equally under the Constitution. If the trial was unfair, i.e. a juror had a bias that they did not reveal, then that would be an unfair trial. So we work with all inmates, regardless of their guilt or innocence, to make sure that happened.
Can the jurors be investigated before the trial?
Although it is possible for jurors to be investigated before the trial, this is not our specialty. However, if your attorney would like to utilize our jury investigation services, have them contact us today.
What happens to the jurors that aren't truthful?
Jurors take an oath to be truthful and uphold the law. This means that the information they provide on the questionnaire is sworn to be truthful. If they lie, then that is considered perjury and may be prosecuted. That ultimately is up to the District Attorney as to whether or not they want to prosecute them. In most cases they are not, but it always remains a possibility.
Do you accept cases on a pro bono status?
Every case is evaluated separately. We mainly work on for-profit cases. However, we have been known to perform some services pro bono for the right case. Contact Us today to schedule a consultation to discuss your case.
What happens if you don't find evidence of jury bias, but do find evidence of jury misconduct? And what is the difference?
While we investigate these jurors for jury bias, it is possible that we find evidence or jury misconduct. While this doesn’t happen very often, jury misconduct can be much more serious than a jury bias. We would work with your attorney to turn over all of the information we discovered, and of course work with them throughout the appeal process to ensure all of the information is turned over to the court. The difference between jury bias and jury misconduct is simply that jury bias is intentionally omitting or lying about their past, their experience, or their relationships. Jury misconduct is an action taken by a jury member that was outside of the scope of the jury instructions, such as talking to the media about the case while they’re under sequester.
Do you work with attorneys in any other capacity?
Yes, our Private Investigators work with appellate attorneys to investigate cases on appeal, including interviewing potential and previous witnesses, meeting with inmates to gather additional information, and doing background checks of key players in a trial post-conviction. If you or your attorney would be interested in talking with us about that, please Contact Us and let us know.
Qualified Private Investigators
Let our team of Licensed Private Investigators research your loved one’s case to make sure that they were given the fairest trial available, under the law.
Experience Counts
When investigating your loved one’s case, you want the best. When all of their appeals are complete, they need someone to fight for them. That’s us.
Guilt Doesn’t Matter
Guilty people deserve a fair trial as much as innocent people, at least according to our Constitution. The government needs to conduct a fair trial for all citizens.