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Due Process Violation – Voir Dire

By: Derek Hawkins//December 6, 2017//

Due Process Violation – Voir Dire

By: Derek Hawkins//December 6, 2017//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Miguel Adorno v. Michael Melvin

Case No.: 16-2273

Officials: BAUER, SYKES, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Due Process Violation – Voir Dire

Miguel Adorno, an Illinois prisoner, was convicted of attempted murder using a firearm. On direct appeal he challenged certain remarks by the trial judge about the state’s burden of proof. More particularly, he argued that the judge’s comments—delivered impromptu during voir dire—invited the jury to convict on less than the reasonable-doubt burden of proof required by the Constitution’s guarantee of due process of law. He also claimed that the judge’s remarks violated state law. The Illinois Court of Appeals addressed only the state-law argument and rejected the claim; the court made no reference to federal law. Adorno then sought federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Applying de novo review, the district judge found a due-process violation and granted the petition.

The judge’s voir dire comments must be viewed “in the context of the entire charge,” not in isolation. Jones v. United States, 527 U.S. 373, 391 (1999). Taken as a whole, nothing in the judge’s remarks creates a reasonable likelihood that the jury “underst[ood] the phrase [‘reasonable doubt’] to mean something less than the very high level of probability required by the Constitution in criminal cases.” Victor, 511 U.S. at 14. Put slightly differently, the judge’s remarks do not suggest that the jurors would have understood that they were free to convict Adorno on less than proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Because the conviction was not tainted by a due-process violation, the order granting habeas relief was unwarranted and is reversed.

Reversed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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