Ruling that a juror’s Facebook posts violated a standard of conduct set by the Arkansas Supreme Court, a judge in Pulaski County Circuit Court has vacated the kidnapping conviction and life sentence imposed last month on a North Little Rock man, granting the defendant’s request for a new trial.
Prosecutors can appeal Circuit Judge Herb Wright’s ruling in the case of Quinton Riley, and chief deputy prosecutor John Johnson said Monday that he is exploring appeal options.
Riley, 27, was convicted at trial of kidnapping - but was acquitted of three counts of rape - by a seven-woman, five-man jury, which also imposed the maximum penalty after a two-day trial.
But Riley’s attorney, Bobby Digby II, petitioned for a new trial because of three Facebook posts that juror Brittany Nicole Lewis made over the course of the proceedings.
The posts, at least one of which was made from the jury room, violated the judge’s orders about jurors using social media during the course of the trial, Digby argued at a hearing last week. He cited the precedent set by the Arkansas Supreme Court in a 2011 decision that overturned a capital-murder defendant’s conviction and death sentence because of a juror’s Twitter posts.
In his three-page ruling, the judge sided with Digby, stating that Lewis’ conduct showed she had not followed the court’s instructions.
“The jurors that serve in this court are told at orientation and again multiple times during each trial that ‘it is important not only that you do justice in this case,but that you also give the appearance of doing justice,’” Wright stated in his ruling.
“This jury was also specifically instructed not to mention anything about this case, in any form, to anyone. By posting her thoughts to Facebook, Lewis disregarded and violated the court’s clear order.”
Wright said jurors had been repeatedly warned against communicating about the case in any manner. Lewis’ conduct denied Riley his right to a fair trial, the judge stated.
“As the [Supreme Court] stated … ‘it is in no way appropriate for a juror to state musings, thoughts or other information about a case in such a public fashion. Lewis’ conduct is even more egregious considering the fact that she made one of her posts to Facebook during the time she was supposed to be deliberating,” his ruling states. “While the court acknowledges that the defendant is entitled to afair trial and not a perfect trial, in this case, the defendant received neither.”
Lewis’ posts did not disclose details of the case against Riley, but appeared to demonstrate her frustration about the length of the trial and the nature of some of the testimony and evidence.
The judge is considering holding Lewis in contempt, a ruling that would allow him to jail her for up to a month. She confirmed she made the postings at a hearing last week.
“Still in this courtroom. Lord, I’m ready to go home. I’m sleepy and tired and my red wine is calling my name,” she posted during a court recess on the first day of trial.
About four hours later, while jurors were supposed to be deliberating whether Riley should be convicted, she wrote, “WE CAN’T COME TO A DECISION. UGH,” ending the sentence with a vulgar acronym.
Four hours later, Lewis posted “Got home at 9:30 after leaving jury duty at 8:40. I’m just now eating my dinner while I’m irritated as hell. I probably won’t sleep tonight after hearing testimonies and seeing horrible pictures. I gotta do it all over again tomorrow.”
Riley was tried based on accusations by a 20-year-old Little Rock woman who testified that Riley, who was a stranger, repeatedly raped her in May 2012 after she accepted his offer to drive her around and smoke marijuana.
She said he ultimately left her naked and bound with duct tape in a storage shed in North Little Rock. She testified that she was able to loosen her bonds and go to a neighboring home to call police.
Riley did not testify but told police they had consensual sex for money, which the accuser had initiated. In a recorded interview played at trial, Riley said the woman had gotten mad at him when he refused to pay her. He told investigators he had left her “butterball naked” behind a relative’s home.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 01/14/2014