Case 3x07.1

Jerry Espenson's Perjury Trial

Episode: 3x07 [Trick Or Treat]
Client: Jerry Espenson
Case: The client was accused of lying on a federal jury screening questionnaire.
CP&S Representation: Alan Shore
Opposing Counsel: Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Newell
Presiding: Judge Dale Melman
Result: The jury found the client to be not guilty.
Notes:

Jerry had been on a federal jury assigned to a capital punishment case. To be on such a jury, an individual must declare that they are not fundamentally opposed to the death penalty. Jerry had indicated he was not opposed.
After the trial Jerry stated in a magazine interview that he was categorically opposed to the death penalty and was subsequently arrested for perjury.
Jerry faced three years in federal prison if convicted.
With no way to truly contest the charges, Alan appealed to the fairness of the jury. Alan's closing:

"Let's forget all about capital punishment for a minute and look at this another way. Say a small town is having a community meeting to vote on whether or not to build a big incinerator. But before the selectmen let you into the meeting, they ask you how you feel about incinerators, and if you're opposed to them, you don't get to go to the meeting. Does that seem fair to any of you? Don't we want all sides represented at a community meeting?
"Jury selection is supposed to work the same way. All of you, in theory, should represent a cross-section of the community. Well, here we are, in Massachusetts, a state with no death penalty. One would assume, therefore, that the majority of the community is opposed to capital punishment. But anyone who holds that view cannot be a juror in a federal death penalty case. This isn't just weeding out people with idiosyncratic opinions; this is weeding out the majority. It's strategic.
"We all know, intuitively, if you start talking about punishment before a trial even begins, you're putting the idea of guilt in the forefront of everyone's mind. Yet, presumption of innocence is the foundation of our whole justice system. Without that, we're no better than totalitarian states who imprison and execute people on the whim of an all-powerful leader.
"Jerry Espenson ...Jerry Espenson is my friend. I care for him dearly. And I know him to be fundamentally, a law-abiding man, who simply saw an injustice and tried to do something about it. If he's guilty of anything, it's of appealing to his sense of fairness. Now, I suppose, he's appealing to yours."