Jury Integrity

If your loved one was convicted in a court of law, and has exhausted their appeals, don’t worry – all may not be lost! Let our Licensed Private Investigator led team show you how we might be able to help you get back into court.

The myth that we are taught as small children is that law enforcement always gets it right, the courts only prosecute those that are guilty, and that if someone is found guilty, they must be guilty. With the rash of exonerations in recent years, we have now learned that all of that is not true.

The fact remains that even if someone is guilty, they still deserve a fair trial by an honest and impartial jury. But what happens when one of the jurors lies about their past? For example, what if a jury member has been the victim of domestic abuse, but they don’t reveal that to the court in a sexual abuse case? What happens when a jury member has a bias that is not revealed to the court? What happens when the defendant is black, and a jury member is a KKK member? These are all examples of information that could bias the jury against a defendant.

It is important to remember that the prosecutor did not convict the defendant. The victim’s loved ones did not convict the defendant. The police did not convict the defendant. The jury convicted the defendant. And if that jury was compromised in any way, that may be a way to get back into court.

Now, what happens when a defendant is convicted? They have no choice but to start the appeals process, most often while they sit in prison. The appeals attorneys will hope and pray that there was some kind of error by the court to reverse the jury’s decision. What they don’t tell you is the fact is that only 7% on average are overturned. That means 93% of the convictions will see the defendant serve out their full sentence.

That’s where we come in! We investigate the jurors who convicted the defendant, to make sure they did not conceal a bias – either against the defendant or in favor of the State – when being considered for the jury.   Who are these people? Where were they born?  Where have they lived throughout their lives?  Where have they worked?  Did they go to college?  Who have they been married to?  Do they have children?  What are their life experiences?  Have any of them ever been accused or convicted of a crime?  Have any of them ever been victims of a crime?

Not only do we investigate the jury members, but also their families. For example, in one of our cases of a murder of a police officer, a jury member put on her questionnaire that neither she nor anyone in her family were involved in law enforcement. We were able to uncover that her father and her brother both worked for the local Sheriff’s office. This is a violation of the Sixth Amendment of the United States. It states: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Contact us today to see if we can help your loved one.