The 11th Circuit is considering whether a trial judge improperly dismissed a juror because the man said the Holy Spirit told him a defendant was innocent of the charges against her. After the judge removed the juror, the jury went on to convict the defendant, former U.S. Representative Corinne Brown, of fraud and tax charges. The judge sentenced her to five years in prison.
A three judge panel of the 11th Circuit later upheld the trial judge's ruling, but the full Circuit will now hear the case. Various groups, including the ACLJ, say that the juror's exclusion violates his First Amendment rights. Professor Tanya Luhrmann of Stanford University argues in a brief filed with the court that the juror could have made his determination based on the evidence presented.
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