DENVER—A federal appeals court has rejected another request from an American Indian man seeking to have his assault conviction overturned following reports that jurors discussed racial stereotypes at his trial.
In October 2007, a jury convicted Kerry Dean Benally of the Ute tribe of hitting a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer with a flashlight after complaints he was driving erratically in the White Mesa area of southeastern Utah.
A day after the verdict was delivered, a juror reported that the foreman and another juror had made derogatory comments about Indians and drinking during deliberations.
The lower court granted Benally a new trial, and the government appealed.
In November, a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Benally’s conviction, citing a rule that prohibits jurors from testifying about their verdicts.
Benally asked for a review of the panel’s decision by the full 10th Circuit. And in a ruling issued Friday, his request was denied.
“A poll was called, and a majority of the active judges voted to deny rehearing en banc,” the decision said. Four judges dissented.
