The defense was unfairly forced to use peremptory challenges to exempt three potential jurors who indicated they would have a difficult time deciding an assault and larceny case if the defendant did not testify and share his “side of the story,” a Manhattan appeals court determined.
A unanimous Appellate Division, First Department, panel reversed Jason Jackson’s 2012 conviction and ordered a new trial, saying Bronx Supreme Court Justice Patricia Anne Williams (See Profile) failed to instruct prospective jurors that the prosecution has the burden to prove a defendant’s guilt and that defendants have the right not to testify.
