United States v. Baker

The Second Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction for conspiracy to distribute drugs. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to show that defendant conspired to distribute more than 100 grams of heroin. The court also held that the district court did not err in denying defendant's request to conduct post-trial interviews of jurors approximately five weeks after the jury verdict. In this case, Juror No. 10's allegation that an unnamed juror said, "he knew the defendant was guilty the first time he saw him," without more, did not constitute clear, strong, and incontrovertible evidence that this juror was animated by racial bias or hostility, providing reasonable grounds for further inquiry. Furthermore, Juror No. 10's email did not provide sufficient evidence to trigger mandatory post‐trial juror interviews because Juror No. 10's email did not constitute clear, strong, substantial and incontrovertible evidence that a specific, non‐speculative impropriety had occurred. View "United States v. Baker" on Justia Law