Government of the Virgin Islands v. Gereau case brief

Government of the Virgin Islands v. Gereau case brief summary
523 F.2d 140 (1975)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Defendants sought review from the United States District Court of the Virgin Islands, Division of St. Croix, which denied their motion for a new trial following defendants' convictions for first degree murder, first degree assault, and robbery.

CASE FACTS
Defendants were found guilty of first degree murder, first degree assault, and robbery. Defendants filed a motion requesting a new trial on the ground that the verdict had not been freely assented to by all the jurors. The motion was supported by the affidavits of two jurors, who represented that their verdict was the result of certain "pressures," but the district court found that these affidavits were involuntarily made out of fear and denied the motion for a new trial.

DISCUSSION

• On appeal, the court held that the findings of the district court were fully supported by the evidence. The court held that the rumors did not qualify as extraneous influences and that the integrity of the court was not put in jeopardy by the spread of such rumors among the jury. 
• The court held that there was no prejudice accrued to defendants from the only occurrence which was both legally cognizable and sufficient to impeach the jury verdict, and thus, that there was no abuse of discretion in the district court's refusal to order a new trial.

CONCLUSION
The court affirmed the order of the district court, which denied defendants' motion for a new trial because no prejudice accrued to defendants from the only occurrence that was both legally cognizable and sufficient to impeach the jury verdict.

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