State of Colorado, Respondent
Frederick R. Yarger, Counsel of Record
Colorado is one of three States that have a “no-impeachment” law that prevents evidence of racial bias during closed jury deliberations in a criminal trial from being used as grounds for a successful appeal of a verdict. This rule prevented introduction of evidence of racially charged statements by a juror in the 2010 trial of Miguel Angel Peña-Rodriguez in an effort to overturn his conviction on three counts of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls. Peña-Rodriguez challenged the rule on appeal, asserting that it violated his Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial, but both a State appellate court and the…
