Tanner v. United States, 483 U.S. 107 (1987), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that juror testimony could not be used to discredit or overturn a jury verdict, even if the jury had been consuming copious amounts of alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine throughout the course of the trial.
| Tanner v. United States | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued March 31, 1987 Decided June 22, 1987 | |
| Full case name | William M. Conover and Anthony R. Tanner v. United States |
| Citations | 483 U.S. 107 (more) 107 S. Ct. 2739; 97 L. Ed. 2d 90; 1987 U.S. LEXIS 2868; 55 U.S.L.W. 4942 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | 772 F.2d 765 (11th Cir. 1985) |
| Holding | |
| The lower courts were correct in denying a hearing on juror misconduct. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | O'Connor, joined by unanimous court (parts III, IV); Rehnquist, White, Powell, Scalia (parts I, II) |
| Concur/dissent | Marshall, joined by Brennan, Blackmun, Stevens |
| Laws applied | |
| Federal Rules of Evidence § 606(b) | |
Background
editAfter the defendant was found guilty of mail fraud, his attorneys filed several motions after they discovered that seven of the jurors drank alcohol during the noon recess. Four of them consumed between them "a pitcher to three pitchers" of beer during various recesses.[1] Of the other three, one said that, on several occasions, he observed two jurors having one or two mixed drinks during the lunch recess, and one other juror, who was also the foreperson, having a liter of wine on each of three occasions.[2] Juror Hardy also said that he and three other jurors smoked marijuana quite regularly during the trial.[2] He also said that, during the trial, he observed one juror ingest cocaine five times and another juror ingest cocaine two or three times.[2] One juror sold one-quarter pound (110 g) of marijuana to another juror during the trial, and took marijuana, cocaine, and drug paraphernalia into the courthouse.[2] One of the jurors described himself to Hardy as "flying".[3]
Opinion of the Court
editThe court held that under Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b), the lower courts were correct in denying a hearing on juror misconduct.[4] The court noted that "the near-universal and firmly established common-law rule in the United States flatly prohibited the admission of juror testimony to impeach a jury verdict".[5]
See also
editReferences
editExternal links
edit- Text of Tanner v. United States, 483 U.S. 107 (1987) is available from: Cornell CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)
