From the Jury Rights Project



For immediate release: September 15, 1997



Reversal of Conviction Sought in Juror Case

ACLU and CCDB Support Kriho's Appeal



[Denver] -- Opening briefs were filed Monday with the Colorado Court of

Appeals by Paul Grant, on behalf of his client, former juror Laura

Kriho. The appeal seeks to reverse Kriho's conviction for contempt of

court for failing to volunteer information that was not requested of her

during jury selection.



The Colorado chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the

Colorado Criminal Defense Bar both filed amicus (friend of the court)

briefs in support of Kriho's appeal. Neither organization could be

reached for comment Monday.



Kriho was prosecuted after she was the lone holdout for acquittal on a

jury in a methamphetamine possession case in Gilpin County in May 1996.

During jury deliberations, Kriho allegedly criticized the drug laws,

discussed sentencing consequences for the defendant, and discussed the

doctrine of jury nullification, the historic power of juries to vote

according to their conscience.



Kriho was tried in October 1996 by First Judicial District Chief Judge

Henry Nieto. Nine of her fellow jurors testified about their discussions

during jury deliberations. In February 1997, Judge Nieto convicted Kriho

for failing to volunteer information to the court during jury selection.

Judge Nieto ruled that Kriho should have volunteered the facts that she

supported reform of hemp and marijuana laws, that she was arrested (but

not convicted) in 1985 for LSD possession, and that she was familiar

with the doctrine of jury nullification. Kriho was cleared of the

perjury aspect of the contempt charge. The judge admitted that she had

not been asked any questions about those issues. Kriho was fined $1200. 



"A juror cannot be put on trial for improper deliberations, as Laura

was. This will destroy the independence of the jury system," Grant says.

"The purpose of the jury is to resist government oppression. A jury

cannot function if the eyes and ears of the government are in the jury

room with them. Laura is not guilty of anything more than following her

conscience and standing up for what she believed was right."



"I don't want my conviction to make anyone afraid to serve on a jury or

to deliberate freely when they do serve on a jury," Kriho says.

"Hopefully, my experience will educate people about the history, the

power, and the importance of juries."



Legal experts say the last time a juror was prosecuted based on evidence

of jury room deliberations was over 300 years ago. 



The Colorado Attorney General's office will file a response to the

appeal within the next few months.



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