A Washington, DC, murder suspect who was sent to prison for 32 years will get a new trial because a juror was wrongfully dismissed.
Marquette Jordan was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2018 stabbing death of Ivan Lynch, who had just celebrated his 48th birthday.
Two witnesses testified that Jordan stabbed Lynch to death with a butcher knife. Jordan argued that a woman at the party had committed the crime, and her friends had falsely accused him.
Police found Jordan after the crime with Lynch’s car keys in his pocket, but the knife was never found.
Jordan was charged with second degree murder, assault, and carrying a dangerous weapon, but the proceedings ended in a mistrial.
During the second trial, Juror 15 asked to be removed for “financial reasons,” even though he was retired. The judge denied the request.
Other jurors started to complain about Juror 15. One cited his “lack of willingness to participate in juror responsibilities and refusal to accept the court’s structure.”
Another stated that Juror 15 “misunderstands the fundamental responsibilities of being a juror in a criminal trial.”
The judge asked Juror 15 if he could continue.
“I’m going to say no,” he replied. “I get my own little idea that I hold onto, and I think I’m going to hold onto it.”
The judge dismissed Juror 15 and replaced him with an alternate. One day later, Jordan was convicted.
Jordan appealed, arguing that Juror 15 was holding out for an acquittal on the merits of the case and should not have been removed.
Appeals Judge Joshua Deahl agreed and remanded the case for a new trial.
“We agree with Jordan that, based on this record, there was a very real possibility that the impetus for Juror 15’s dismissal was that he had entrenched views about the merits of the case that differed from his fellow jurors’ views,” he wrote.
Diehl pointed to Juror 15’s comment about his “own little idea.”
“We struggle to see how this could be interpreted as anything other than Juror 15 indicating that he had reached a decision at odds with his fellow jurors’ views and did not think further deliberations would be fruitful,” he wrote.
