Juror’s naps won’t overturn conviction

The judge and the attorneys on both sides agreed that one of the jurors fell asleep during testimony in a Franklin County murder trial last summer, Dispatch courts Reporter John Futty reports.

But that wasn’t enough to overturn the jury’s guilty verdicts against Desjuan L. Hayes, a three-judge county Appeals Court panel ruled last week.

“There seems to be agreement of the parties that the person identified as Juror No. 2 dozed off on more than one occasion,” Judge Gary Tyack wrote in the unanimous decision. “While such conduct is not acceptable, there is no indication in the record before us that the outcome of the trial was affected.

Hayes’ attorney doesn’t share the same opinion. According to the appeal, the judge’s failure to remove, or even question, the juror about the naps prevented Hayes from receiving a fair trial in July 2016.

The jury convicted Hayes, 28, of a 2014 shooting that killed Michael L. Cumberland, 39, and critically wounded Erica N. Haley, 24, at a South Side house. Haley provided the key testimony against Hayes.

Attorneys discussed the possibility of replacing the woman with an alternate juror. When the trial resumed the following week, the judge asked if the parties wanted to put an alternate on the jury, but neither side asked for the juror to be removed.

The jury returned its verdicts after deliberating for 90 minutes. On July 13, the judge sentenced Hayes to life in prison with no chance of parole for 21 years.

Pre-prison engagement?

Defense attorney Leo Ross was pulling out the stops last Tuesday to minimize the time his client would spend in federal prison for drug trafficking, Dispatch federal courts Reporter Earl Rinehart noted.

After a life of crime interrupted only by prison stays, Jodie Turner, 39, told U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson that he finally wanted to become a better person and take care of his children.

Ross noted that Turner’s two sons were in the courtroom. Watson said that spoke well of Turner and he’d recommend a prison in Ohio or a contiguous state.

Ross also noted that Turner’s fiancee, whom Turner hopes to marry when freed, was in the gallery.

“Are you proposing for him?” Watson asked the attorney.

“Since he told me that I thought I’d might as well make it public,” Ross replied.

Yet the only deal sealed Tuesday was a negotiated 37 months in prison for Turner.

The fiancee declined comment on the other offer.