Fine dropped for biased juror in mistrial

Bill Gang

Thursday, July 24, 1997 | 9:14 a.m.

A $500 fine has been lifted against an elderly juror who cast the lone not-guilty vote in the murder trial of a man whose alleged victim was found under his bed.

Micheline Rodgers had admitted that she refused to convict Gregory Leonard at his May trial because one of the state's witnesses was Puerto Rican and she believes "they can't be trusted."

After District Judge Nancy Becker declared a mistrial, she ruled that Rodgers was in contempt of court because she let her ethnic biases affect her vote as a juror, in violation of her oath.

The fine, Becker said, was to repay a small portion of the thousands of dollars the unresolved case had cost taxpayers.

But after a challenge by attorney Karen Winckler to the sanction, Becker concluded that she had used the wrong standard of proof in reaching her conclusion that Rodgers had willfully and knowingly violated her oath.

She said that when the appropriate higher standard of proof was applied, "the court must reluctantly conclude that the record does not support the imposition of sanctions."

"This is not to say that the court condones her conduct," Becker wrote of Rodgers. "Her personal opinions regarding persons of Puerto Rican ancestry are deplorable and have no place in a court of law."

Rodgers had told fellow jurors during deliberations that "Puerto Ricans cannot be trusted and they are worse than Mexicans." She admitted to Becker that her prejudices prevented her from objectively evaluating the witness's testimony.

The problem, Becker said, came in determining whether Rodgers understood that she should have notified the judge of her dilemma immediately after the witness testified.

Becker noted in Wednesday's decision that Rodgers had said she probably should have said something but thought she could overcome her prejudices.

"If the 'clear and convincing' standard is applied, the court cannot rule out that her failure to act was the product of confusion rather than a willful disregard of her oath," Becker concluded.

Leonard's trial has been rescheduled for Dec. 1.