Washington Injury Law Blog

Last week I wrote about a Spokane Washington Medical Malpractice case in which the Plaintiff’s attorney (who is of Japanese decent) had asked for a new trial following a verdict against his client.  The attorney requested the new trial because multiple members of the jury made racially discriminatory comments about him. Spokane County Judge Robert Austin agreed and has ordered a new trial due to the juries improper conduct during deliberations according to reports in Seattle PI.

Judge Austin was surprised upon hearing such conduct had happened.  During a hearing to decide if a new trial was justified Judge Austin commented that “We’d hoped we’d moved beyond this, and we apparently have not. It’s upsetting.” The remarks of “Mr. Kamikaze,” “Mr. Miyashi,” and Mr. Miyagi” were expressions of prejudice and Judge Austin could not rule out jury misconduct influencing the verdict. He therefore ordered a new trial. Justice has prevailed and the right thing has been done.

There is no place for racial prejudice or discrimination in the jury room. The U.S. Constitution’s 6th and 7th Amendments guarantee a right to trial by jury.  The right to a fair and impartial jury is a founding principal upon which the United State of America was formed. I firmly believe we must do all that is necessary to maintain the integrity of the juries in this great country. I applaud Judge Austin for doing the right thing and what was necessary in this unfortunate jury bias case.