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Skilling v. United States | 561 U.S. 358 (2010)
Dramatic or newsworthy crimes often excite public imagination or outrage against the supposed bad guy. But criminal trials are supposed to be rational affairs, decided by impartial jurors. The United States Supreme Court considered the steps a trial court can take to provide a fair trial in 2010’s Skilling versus United States.
Jeffrey Skilling was Enron Corporation’s chief executive officer until shortly before its infamous collapse. He and other Enron officials were charged in federal district court in Houston, Texas, with fraudulently misrepresenting Enron’s financial condition.
Enron’s collapse generated lots of hostile public opinion in Houston. Skilling moved for a change of venue, arguing that pretrial publicity had prejudiced potential jurors against him. The district court denied his motion, instead allowing him to submit a lengthy juror questionnaire. One hundred nineteen of four hundred prospective jurors were excused because of their questionnaire answers.
Three weeks before trial, one of Skilling’s co-defendants pleaded guilty, again generating extensive press coverage. Skilling renewed his change-of-venue motion, which the court again denied, ruling that voir dire could ensure an impartial jury. After jury selection and a four-month trial, Skilling was convicted of most of the charges he faced.
The court of appeals ruled that negative press coverage created a presumption of juror prejudice but that the trial court’s thorough voir dire overcame that presumption and seated an impartial jury. The United States Supreme Court granted cert.
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