MI- Convicted sex offender Michael Allen Miller won't get new trial, state Supreme Court rules

12-31-2008 Michigan:

OTTAWA COUNTY -- The presence of a fellow sex offender on a jury did not deprive a man accused of abusing a child of a fair trail, according to the Michigan Supreme Court.

Michael Allen Miller was convicted in March 2006 by a unanimous Ottawa County Circuit Court jury of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for forcing a 7-year-old girl to perform oral sex. The incident happened near Holland. The 31-year-old is serving a 14- to 30-year prison sentence.


Not long after sentencing, his lawyer, Damian Nunzio, discovered that one juror, Jesse Lara, had failed to disclose his criminal past. According to court records, Lara was convicted in 1991 and in 1999 of assault with intent to commit sexual penetration.

In August 2006, Lara testified he didn't disclose the information because it occurred years ago and he figured it wasn't anything that "would still carry on today." Court records show Lara thought the conviction would be on his record for seven years or so. Felony conviction records are permanent.

Ottawa Circuit Judge Calvin Bosman ruled Lara's thinking, while muddled, did not indicate an attempt to deceive and did not appear to impair his ability to fairly render a verdict. But the State Court of Appeals determined Miller deserved a new trial.

Today, the state Supreme Court decided Miller did not prove the jury was prejudiced by Lara's presence, and that his inclusion on the jury was a "harmless error."

Justices Marilyn Kelly and Michael Cavanagh dissented from the majority, saying there is a fundamental problem with having a convicted felon on a jury and that Miller was due the benefit of the doubt when it came to determining whether Lara tainted the jury and, therefore, deserved a new trial. ..News Source.. by The Grand Rapids Press