A federal court in the District of Columbia unanimously ruled that the city’s overwhelming liberal lean doesn’t prejudice the jury pool against Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot defendants.
Thomas Webster, a retired New York police officer who was convicted of five felonies and one misdemeanor related to the riot, brought the case to challenge his conviction because the district court denied his motion to change venues.
Webster had been sentenced to 120 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release and a $510 fine.
He had argued in court documents that the jury pool in the District was “simply too Democratic, too connected to the federal government, and too steeped in January 6th news coverage to produce twelve unbiased jurors.”
He also said that a poll revealed District residents’ negative impression of people who participated in the Jan. 6 riot.
The three-judge panel for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his claims.
The court reasoned that a negative impression of an event — like Jan. 6 or a murder — says nothing about a juror’s ability to be impartial.
“What the Constitution forbids is for a juror to hold a firmly entrenched view about an individual defendant’s guilt or innocence before the trial starts,” Judge Patricia Ann Millett, an Obama appointee, wrote in the unanimous opinion.
She was joined in the ruling by Judge Neomi Rao and Judge Gregory Katsas, both Trump appointees.
The court also said the fact that D.C. residents voted overwhelmingly for President Biden doesn’t matter for empaneling an impartial jury.
“The political inclinations of a populace writ large say nothing about an individual’s ability to serve impartially in adjudicating the criminal conduct of an individual,” the court said.
Webster also argued he was not afforded adequate opportunity to cross-examine an officer he fought with during the riot, and that part of the jury instruction was problematic. But the court rejected those arguments too.
According to court documents, Webster carried a Marine Corps flag and charged toward the U.S. Capitol during the riot. He broke through a line of bicycles used to keep protesters away from a police line.
Shortly after, he wrestled an officer to the ground over his flag pole, knocking the officer down and pushing on the officer’s gas mask.
The scuffle lasted about 10 seconds.
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