Should Acquittals Require Unanimity?

SHERRY F. COLB

Cornell law professor Sherry F. Colb considers the policy question of whether, since the Constitution requires jury unanimity to convict a defendant of a serious crime, states should require a unanimous verdict to acquit a defendant, as well. Colb describes the reasons behind jury unanimity convictions and assesses whether they apply similarly to acquittals.

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United States v. Mendoza-Sanchez

Docket: 19-1091

Opinion Date: June 30, 2020

Judge: Torruella

Areas of Law: Criminal Law, Immigration Law

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea to one count of reentry after deportation and to dismiss the indictment, holding that the immigration court did not lack jurisdiction. In moving to withdraw his plea and dismiss the indictment, Appellant argued that the removal order underlying his conviction had been rendered null and void. Specifically, Appellant argued that because his notice to appear did not specify the date or time of the removal hearing the immigration court lacked jurisdiction to issue the removal order. The district court denied the motion, concluding that Appellant did not satisfy the prerequisites set forth in 8 U.S.C. 1326(d) for collaterally attacking the removal order. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Goncalves Pontes v. Barr, 938 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2019) controlled, and Appellant's jurisdictional argument failed.

United States v. Hernandez-Hernandez

Docket: 19-1123

Opinion Date: June 30, 2020

Judge: David J. Barron

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant's sentence for two drug-trafficking offenses and two money-laundering offenses, holding that the sentence was neither procedurally nor substantively unreasonable. The district court sentenced Defendant to 324 months' imprisonment for the drug-trafficking counts of 240 months' imprisonment for the money-laundering counts, to be served concurrently. On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court committed procedural errors in calculating his Guidelines sentencing range and that the sentence was substantively unreasonable under 18 U.S.C. 3553(a)(6), which warns against disparate sentences for similarly situated codefendants. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err in applying the various enhancements to which Defendant had objected below; (2) any error in initially finding that Defendant's drug-trafficking offenses involved 200 kilograms of cocaine was harmless; and (3) in light of certain differences between Defendant and his codefendants, Defendant's disparity challenge is rejected.

Baum-Holland v. Hilton El Con Management, LLC

Docket: 18-2061

Opinion Date: June 30, 2020

Judge: Torruella

Areas of Law: Personal Injury

The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment for Defendants and dismissing Plaintiff's tort action stemming from the death of Dr. George Holland while he was vacationing at a hotel located in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, holding that there was insufficient evidence to establish the causation element of Plaintiffs' tort claim. Plaintiffs, Dr. Holland's wife and their children, asserted a tort claim under Article 1802 of the Puerto Rico Civil Code against the hotel, its insurer and other entities stemming from Dr. Holland's death while he was snorkeling close to an island near the hotel. The district court granted Defendants' motion for summary judgment in its entirety. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that Appellants did not point to evidence in the record from which a reasonable jury could rule in their favor as to the causation element of their tort claim, and therefore, summary judgment was appropriate.