Juror’s online posts endanger verdict
$2 million awarded in strip search case
A juror’s posts on Facebook during a federal civil rights trial he was hearing could jeopardize a nearly $2 million verdict awarded to a man who claimed he was illegally strip searched by a former Milwaukee police officer.
The jury found that former officer Michael Vagnini had violated Willie Newman’s civil rights during a 2010 arrest and that fellow officers Jeffrey Cline and Paul Martinez failed to intervene, despite knowledge of Vagnini’s improper actions and opportunity to stop him. The decision came the day before Thanksgiving, after a two-day trial, and included $1,995,000 in actual and punitive damages.
Now the city’s lawyers have asked the judge to question jurors under oath after the city says it found “Juror No. 1” had posted about the trial on Facebook, suggesting he or she might have done research about damages in similar cases, had undisclosed expertise in psychology and expressed advocacy for the inarticulate.
They also say the juror “shared a post by a local antipolice activist, Tory Lowe, which contained a photograph of Officer Vagnini in the context of his 2013 court proceedings, and notes that ‘a source’ told him the specific details of the jury verdict in this case.”
The city’s motion was filed Thursday. It wants U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller to question jurors to “determine if extraneous prejudicial information was improperly brought to the attention of the jury.”
The city asked that an 85page printout of the juror’s Facebook activity be filed under seal to protect the juror’s identity.
Jurors are not to discuss the case they are hearing with anyone, including other jurors until deliberations start, or to independently research any aspects or questions related to the case, but rather rely solely on the evidence presented during the trial.
The city’s attorneys say that the juror agreed with commenters on Facebook and said he or she would “always defends those (who need) help expressing themselves,” and that he/ she was “an advocate,” and a “bridge.”
The city also asks that Stadtmueller question “C.M.,” who posted “that she had knowledge that Juror No. 1 had ‘researched the payouts of similar cases,’ and had a psychology background and can tell when people are ‘b.s.ing.’ ”
If the judge determines that outside information entered the deliberations, he would have to throw out the verdict against the officers, the city argues. Any questioning would be only about the introduction of extra information; even the judge is not allowed to inquire about the actual deliberations, the juror’s thought process in reaching the verdict or the effect of anything on jurors’ votes.
Vagnini was one of four officers convicted of crimes in connection with illegal strip and cavity searches in district stations and on the streets of District 5 from 2008 to 2012. They were forced to resign as a result. Vagnini pleaded no contest to four felonies and four misdemeanors and was sentenced to 26 months in prison. The others were convicted of misdemeanors.