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Convicted killer seeks new trial based on jury's cell phone use
In a court case precedent, a convicted murderer is asking for a re-trial because the jurors used their cell phones. Daniel Blaine Latham, who was convicted in last year of murdering a church organist from Price, has asked for a new trial based on jurors' use of cell phones while they were in the court's deliberation room, according to News-Journal.com. "Prompted by concerns raised by Latham's attorney, Rusk County District Judge J. Clay Gossett questioned each juror about cell phone use immediately after they delivered the sentence against Latham. Eleven of the 12 jurors said they had used a cell phone to call family members while in the deliberation room. They all said they did not discuss the case and most conversations centered on the jurors arriving home late that night. It wasn't clear when the calls were made. The jurors cell phone bills for Feb. 8, 9 and 10 have been subpoenaed. According to the motion for a new trial, Latham's attorney, Daryll Bennett, said what the jurors talked about is not the issue. "Even though the jurors said they did not talk about the case, there are still many possibilities of jury misconduct in this case. Even (the) pressure of a baby crying in the background or a husband wanting his dinner would be pressure for a juror to go against her verdict just to be able to go home," Bennett's motion said". |
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