Defense claims juror bias and requests new trial
DOWNTOWN LA — Attorneys for the 89-year-old man convicted last month of vehicular manslaughter for driving his car through a crowded Santa Monica farmers’ market, killing 10 and injuring more than 60 others, filed a motion for a new trial Thursday, claming juror misconduct.
In court papers filed with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson, defense attorneys charge that at least one juror concealed a bias towards George Russell Weller during jury selection, something which only came to light during a press conference following the verdict.
The attorneys also claim that another juror asked for guidance from his minister prior to reaching a verdict, and that at least two jurors paced off what they may have believed was a distance of 240 feet in the corridor of the courthouse, discussing the measurement with other jurors outside of deliberations.
Defense attorney Mark Overland is requesting a hearing on these allegations Nov. 20, the day his client is expected to be sentenced. It is unclear whether Weller will be present in court that day, as his attorneys filed a notarized waiver to exempt him from attending.
“He’s not well,” another of Weller’s attorneys, Mark Borenstein, said last month. “He’s 89 years old. He’s quite sick and deteriorating.”
Weller was convicted Oct. 20 on 10 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and could face up to 18 years in prison.It is unclear what effect the motion for a new trial may have on the sentencing.
The request comes just a day after the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed a motion calling for the defense attorneys to be punished for harassing at least three jurors.
Deputy District Attorney Ann Ambrose, who prosecuted Weller, said in her motion that in the last week, she had been contacted by three former jurors who were unexpectedly confronted either at home or at work by an investigator working for the defense.
One juror was told that if she did not sign a declaration prepared by the defense, she would be subject to a court summons.
“Two of the jurors expressed their frustration at being bothered after they feel they have completed their jury service,”Ambrose wrote. “They expressed a desire not to speak to the defense. A family member of another juror stated she felt the defense investigator employed confusing and misleading questions and took advantage of her father(’s) politeness.”
Ambrose said at least three jurors have received subpoenas from the defense, a violation of Judge Johnson’s order that anyone wishing to speak with the jurors first contact him before they do so.
A hearing has been scheduled for Monday, Nov. 13.
Overland said in a telephone interview that the motion was “frivolous.”
“There was no court order that precludes the defense and the prosecutor from contacting the jurors,” Overland said. “We had information of juror misconduct and we are filing for a new trial.”
Jane Robison, a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office, declined to comment on the motion filed by the defense, other than to say, “We will deal with this on Monday in open court.”
Ten people were killed and 68 others injured on July 16, 2003, when Weller’s Buick LeSabre tore through the open-air market on Arizona Avenue. His attorneys said that the then-86-year-old man accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brakes,a rare case of“pedal error.”
Jurors, however, returned a verdict siding with the prosecution’s theory that Weller had the means to avoid the wreck and the carnage that resulted.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 10, 2006. Read the original PDF.