Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (January 2022)

This post summarized published criminal and related decisions released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during January 2022. Decisions that may be of interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous Fourth Circuit case summaries are available here.  Omissions by juror about relatives in law enforcement and other topics during voir dire did not support juror bias claims Porter v. White, 23 F.4th 322 (Jan. 12, 2022). The petitioner was convicted of the murder of a police officer in state court in the Eastern District of Virginia and was sentenced to death. During jury selection, one juror did not reveal that his brother worked as a law enforcement officer when asked about relatives working in law enforcement (although he did disclose that his nephew worked in law enforcement). During later proceedings, it was discovered that the same juror also failed to reveal relatives who had been victims of violent crime and family members who had been arrested for crimes, despite having been questioned on those issues. After exhausting the state appellate and collateral review process, the petitioner sought habeas relief in federal court. He argued that the juror’s omissions during the selection process showed bias, in violation of the petitioner’s Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury. After several dismissals, appeals, and remands, the district court conducted an evidentiary hearing on the juror bias claims. The juror in question testified that his omissions were not “deliberate” and that “he hadn’t thought very hard” about his answers during jury selection but [...]