Judge defends excluding unvaccinated juror in law firm associate's trial - Reuters
An empty jury box .iREUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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(Reuters) - A federal judge who oversaw a trial last month between law firm King & Spalding and one of its former associates said she was justified in excluding a potential juror who was not vaccinated against COVID-19.
U.S. District Valerie Caproni in Manhattan said in an 11-page Friday ruling that allowing an unvaccinated person to serve on the jury could have disrupted the trial, in which plaintiff David Joffe failed to persuade jurors that he was fired for reporting alleged ethical breaches in King & Spalding's work for a Chinese telecom company.
An unvaccinated juror could contract COVID-19 and spread it to other jurors, who might feel uncomfortable serving on a jury with them, Caproni said.
"Such anxiety may impair a juror’s ability to perform his or her duty by being a distraction from the proceedings, both during trial and during deliberations," she wrote.
Joffe had objected to excluding jurors due to their COVID-19 vaccination status, according to the ruling. In the end, one unvaccinated juror was excused after being asked her status during jury selection, Caproni wrote, though the juror wasn't told the reason.
Other federal judges in New York, California and Oregon have also excluded unvaccinated people from serving on juries, Caproni noted in her ruling. She held there "is nothing to suggest that the viewpoints held by the unvaccinated will not be adequately represented by the vaccinated."
The jury on Nov. 29 found Joffe did not prove his claims that King & Spalding retaliated against him after he reported alleged misconduct involving his former colleagues at the firm.
Caproni has ordered Joffe to show cause as to why his remaining allegations of wrongful termination of benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act shouldn't also be thrown out "given the record developed at trial." His response is due Friday.
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source: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/judge-defends-excluding-unvaccinated-juror-law-firm-associates-trial-2021-12-13/
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