Bethesda man appealing court’s denial to overturn second conviction
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April 13, 2021
Bethesda man appealing court’s denial to overturn second conviction
Attorneys representing a Bethesda man who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after firefighters found the body of a man he hired to dig a network of tunnels under his home are planning to appeal a court’s denial to overturn his conviction.
Megan Coleman, an attorney for Daniel Beckwitt, asked the Maryland Special Court of Appeals to reconsider her client’s conviction, but the court denied the motion on March 31. [WTOP]
Don’t Let Judges Lie to Juries about Conscientious Acquittal SHARE
Juror #112 had serious reservations about the case in front of him. The defendants were each charged with no less than 42 offenses. “Do we have the right to use jury nullification of a charge?” the juror asked.
The trial court’s answer was evasive, but the juror was insistent. “Can you answer the jury nullification with a yes or no response?” came the second note. After the third such inquiry, the circuit judge made the following declaration:
“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury you may not use, implement, or resort to jury nullification. It is improper, it’s contrary to the law [and] would be a violation of your oath…”