Published: June 26, 2009 03:01 pm      

Improper, but ... 06/29/09

Court rules there’s no evidence that shirts influenced jurors

In upholding the 2007 wanton murder conviction of Charles Allen in Greenup County Circuit Court, the Kentucky Supreme Court rightly ruled T-shirts worn by the victim’s family members were improper but were not the reason the jury found Allen guilty.

During the jury selection, members of the family of Chad Brown — who Allen was accused of fatally shooting in 2006 — wore T-shirts with Brown’s photo and the words “In Loving Memory.” Allen’s attorneys appealed his conviction, claiming the shirts unduly influenced the jury.

Writing for a unanimous court, Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. said, “After careful examination, we conclude that the wearing of these T-shirts in the courtroom by Brown’s family, although improper, did not so infect these proceedings with error to require reversal.”

The ruling by the highest court in Kentucky is similar to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld a 2006 conviction during which buttons with a picture of the victim were worn in the courtroom by spectators. In that case, federal justices said the buttons were a harmless expression of grief by family members. The same could be said about the T-shirts worn in Greenup County, although they were perhaps more visible to others — including those in the jury pool — than lapel buttons.

Minton said Greenup County Circuit Court Judge Robert Conley took the proper action by questioning jurors on whether the T-shirts influenced their decision. All said their decision was based on the evidence presented, not the T-shirts.

Allen did not deny shooting Brown, but he claimed it was accidental. The jury obviously did not believe his version of what led to Brown’s death.

Maybe the family was trying to influence the jury by wearing the T-shirts. If so, that’s wrong. But there was plenty of evidence presented during the trial that gave much greater reasons for them to convict Allen — who now is serving 20 years in prison — than any T-shirt could.