In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled nonunanimous jury convictions were unconstitutional, leading to a man's acquittal. One advocacy group says there are hundreds of similar cases in the state.
The 2020 ruling meant a new trial for Ramos, who was acquitted in March — this time by a unanimous jury — after defense lawyers highlighted weakness in the investigation leading to his prosecution.
In Oregon, the only other state that allowed nonunanimous verdicts for convictions before the Ramos case, the state Supreme Court granted new trials. But the U.S. Supreme Court and the Louisiana Supreme Court rejected arguments to apply the ruling retroactively. Instead of retroactively granting new trials, the legislation would establish a commission with three retired state appellate or Supreme Court judges empowered to decide whether the verdict “resulted in a miscarriage of justice,” and whether parole is warranted.
“It has to be true relief — release from being considered guilty,” said Hardell Ward, a Promise of Justice Initiative attorney whose client’s case led to a state high court ruling barring older, appeal-exhausted convictions from the ban on nonunanimous verdicts. Nonunanimous jury policies were rooted in post-Civil War policy and designed to make conviction of Black defendants easier, even with one or two Black jurors.
It’s not clear how many verdicts have come out differently after Ramos. The Louisiana District Attorneys Association is not compiling those statistics, Lampert said in an email.
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