Subject Index Juries

Conviction must be reversed where counts are indistinguishable to the jury, making it impossible to know if a conviction is unanimous

January
2024
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
On Oct. 27, 2023, the Third District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a conviction must be reversed if a jury was unable to differentiate between multiple counts, making it impossible to know if a conviction on any one of those counts was unanimous.

Judgment notwithstanding the verdict is proper when jury’s answer on a special interrogatory is inconsistent with its verdict

January
2024
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
On Oct. 19, 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court held that a judgment notwithstanding the verdict is proper when a jury’s answer to a special interrogatory is inconsistent with its general verdict.

Verdict reached after jury discharged and reassembled is invalid

September
2023
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
On June 13, 2023, the Fourth District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a personal injury verdict was invalid because the jury was dismissed after reaching an internally inconsistent verdict, reassembled, and then reached a second verdict that was legally inconsistent with the first.

Guilty verdicts on charges of manslaughter and child endangerment found legally inconsistent where offenses required inconsistent mental states

July
2023
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
On March 31, 2023, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that guilty verdicts on charges of manslaughter and child endangerment were legally inconsistent because the offenses respectively required reckless and knowing conduct.

No abuse of discretion in refusing jury instruction when proposed instruction inaccurately states the law

May
2023
Illinois Law Update
, Page 14
On Feb. 17, 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court held that a trial court did not abuse its discretion when it declined a defendant’s proposed jury instruction that was not an accurate statement of the law.

Juror substitution was plain error where alternate juror was substituted after deliberations began and not questioned about outside influences upon returning to the jury

February
2023
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
On Nov. 14, the Fifth District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that substituting a juror after deliberations already started was plain error.

Prim instruction and failing to grant defendant’s motion for mistrial was plain error when the jury said it could not reach a unanimous verdict

January
2023
Illinois Law Update
, Page 14
On Oct. 26, 2022, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court held it was plain error to deny a motion for a mistrial after a jury received the Prim instruction and then indicated it could not reach a unanimous verdict.

Modification of accomplice witness jury instruction proper

March
2022
Illinois Law Update
, Page 18
Fane was convicted of several offenses, including residential burglary, home invasion, and resisting or obstructing a peace officer. On Nov. 18, 2016, police pursued two separate individuals, McGee and Beales, following a 911 report of a home invasion.

A court must engage in a procedurally proper Batson hearing

December
2021
Illinois Law Update
, Page 14
On Sept. 27, 2021, the Second District of the Illinois Appellate Court found that a trial court failed to conduct a proper Batson hearing.

Dismissal of pro se postconviction petition challenging the state’s exclusion of a Black venire member reversed

September
2021
Illinois Law Update
, Page 18
On June 8, 2021, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court reversed the trial court’s dismissal of Valen Little’s pro se postconviction petition. The First District found that Little made an arguable claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to challenge the state’s exclusion of a Black venire person from the jury.

Court’s preventing jurors from controlling audio recording does not necessarily constitute interference with jury deliberations

August
2021
Illinois Law Update
, Page 18
On May 18, 2021, the Third District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that the trial court did not interfere with jury deliberation when it instructed the jury to remain silent while listening to an audio recording and prevented the jury from controlling the playback of the audio recording.

Juror’s familial and professional relationship with victim’s relative does not necessarily constitute bias

April
2021
Illinois Law Update
, Page 18
On Dec. 21, 2020, the Fifth District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a dying declaration does not violate the Sixth Amendment and that a juror’s familial and professional relationship with a victim’s family does not necessarily constitute bias.

A presumption of prejudice arises when jurors are exposed to relevant outside information

February
2021
Illinois Law Update
, Page 14
On Sept. 4, 2020, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court held that a new trial is required when jurors are exposed to outside information that may have prejudiced them.

Hindsight Is 20/20

By Arlo Walsman
November
2020
Article
, Page 34
Admissibility of hindsight-bias evidence in Illinois.

Kicking police officer may constitute osbtructing a police officer rather than aggravated battery

October
2020
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
On July 13, 2020, the First District of the Illinois Appellate Court found that a rational jury could conclude that a defendant’s act of kicking a police officer supports a conviction for obstructing a peace officer instead of aggravated battery.

Court failed to safeguard defendant’s right to a public trial

May
2020
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
The defendant was convicted at a jury trial for possession of a weapon by a felon, forgery, and aggravated fleeing and eluding.

What’s So Special About Special Interrogatories?

By Amy Frantz
May
2020
Article
, Page 30
A guide to special interrogatories and navigating the amended statute that governs them.

Court gives inadequate self-defense jury instruction

April
2020
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
On Jan. 31, 2020, the Third District Appellate Court reversed a trial court decision that failed to provide adequate self-defense and second-degree murder instructions to the jury.

Conviction reversed after playing video in open court chilled jury deliberations

October
2019
Illinois Law Update
, Page 14
On July 23, 2019, the Third District Appellate Court reversed and remanded a defendant’s conviction, holding that a clear or obvious error occurred when the lower court required the jury to view and listen to video and audio recordings of the arrest in the courtroom in the presence of the parties, their attorneys, and the trial judge, as the presence of these third parties chilled jury deliberations.

No error in nonremoval of juror who knew police officer in video interview

October
2019
Illinois Law Update
, Page 14
On July 11, 2019, the Fifth District Appellate Court held that 1) a lower court judge had not erred in failing to remove, sua sponte, a potential juror for cause who stated that she knew a police officer who appeared in a video interview but who was not a witness; 2) the defense counsel was not liable for ineffective assistance for failing to challenge the inclusion of the potential juror, where the defendant received a fair trial and there was no reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s failure to challenge the potential juror, the outcome of the trial would have been different; and 3) no error existed when: the jury watched the video interview in the presence of two neutral nonjurors (a clerk and a bailiff), the jury started to watch the video before the judge decided what they would be permitted to see, or when one juror went to use the restroom at the time the video began.

Removal of sleeping juror held to be race-neutral

October
2019
Illinois Law Update
, Page 14
On July 11, 2019, the Third District Appellate Court held that removal of the only African-American juror from the trial of an African-American defendant did not deprive the defendant of equal protection or due process.

It’s Time to Define ‘Beyond a Reasonable Doubt’

By Timothy James Ting
July
2018
Article
, Page 24
Unlike most state courts, Illinois courts do not define "reasonable doubt" for juries. Should Illinois reconsider?
2 comments (Most recent July 21, 2018)

Instructional error in jury selection can constitute plain error

August
2017
Illinois Law Update
, Page 18
Defendant was convicted for resisting a peace officer and sentenced to two years' imprisonment following a jury trial.

Illinois Supreme Court overturns six-person-jury statute

By Matthew Hector
November
2016
LawPulse
, Page 12
The high court ruled that the Illinois Constitution guarantees the right to a 12-person jury.

Parties may no longer demand a jury of 12

May
2015
Illinois Law Update
, Page 16
The Code of Civil Procedure has been amended to restrict the number of jurors a party can demand in a civil jury trial.

Is the switch to six-person juries constitutional?

By Matthew Hector
March
2015
LawPulse
, Page 14
The challenge of choosing a six-person panel may make you rethink your jury-selection strategy. But some lawyers are asking whether the change in jury size violates the Illinois Constitution.
1 comment (Most recent February 22, 2015)

Grand juries in the spotlight

By Matthew Hector
February
2015
LawPulse
, Page 12
The shooting death of Michael Brown drew attention to the usually secret world of grand jury proceedings. Illinois lawyers talk about how the process works across the river from Ferguson.

Jury demand in original complaint transfers to third-party claims assigned to the original plaintiff

November
2014
Illinois Law Update
, Page 524
On August 18, 2014, the Second District Appellate Court of Illinois held that a plaintiff's original jury demand covered a third-party claim against an insurer that had been assigned to the plaintiff as part of a settlement agreement.

Juries in the Age of Voir Google

By Hon. Ron Spears
August
2014
Column
, Page 402
Lawyers are using Internet to research prospective jurors.

Discourage juror tweets through admonishment, not punishment

By Janan Hanna
July
2014
LawPulse
, Page 314
Authors of a Chicago-based study of jury behavior conclude that jurors actually listen to instructions from judges not to communicate about the case.

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