In United States v. Brown, 17-15470 (Jan. 9, 2020) (Rosenbaum,
William Pryor, Conway), the Court affirmed the defendant's convictions.
The main issue was whether the district court abused its
discretion by dismissing a juror who told other jurors that the Holy Spirit
told him that the defendant was not guilty.
In a lengthy opinion, the Court concluded that there was no abuse of
discretion because the district court made a finding that the juror meant that
the Holy Spirit told him to acquit regardless of the evidence, not that the
Holy Spirit would guide him in his review of the evidence. The Court also rejected the defendant's
arguments that the district court lacked a sufficient basis to inquire into the
juror's statements, that the court's inquiry violated Rule 606(b), and that the
court's dismissal violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the juror's
First Amendment rights, and the Sixth Amendment right to a unanimous verdict.
Judge Conway concurred but wrote separately to emphasize
that the majority opinion did not mean that a juror could not use religious
beliefs to seek guidance when applying the law to the evidence in the case. Rather, the Court held only that the district
court did not abuse its discretion by finding that the juror was not following the
court's direction to consider the evidence.
Judge Pryor issued a 60-page dissent, criticizing the majority
for mischaracterizing the juror's comments and for making it too easy to
disqualify jurors who hold religious beliefs.
