Jurors who meet 1 criterion for bias must be disqualified, court rules

Signing a pledge to be fair won’t fly, the justices ruled.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Jurors must be disqualified for bias if they meet specific criteria set out in the law — even if they sign a pledge to be fair, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

In a 6-1 decision, justices ruled that attorneys can’t use their discretion and qualify a juror who meets one of nine criteria that legally qualify as bias.

The decision was made in the case of banking executive Anne Hall of Columbus, who filed a sex discrimination suit against Banc One Corp., where she was fired in January 2000.

Hall sought to disqualify a juror in the case, Michael Stein, who had two sons employed by the bank and a daughter who had worked there until being fired. Stein said he had no loyalty to the bank because of his children’s employment connection and understood the bank had fired his daughter for economic reasons.

The court allowed him to continue his service on the jury, which ultimately returned a verdict in favor of the bank. Hall lost an appeal in the 10th District Court, which said the trial court had not abused its discretion. Wednesday’s ruling means Hall gets a new trial.

Justice Terrence O’Donnell, writing for the majority Wednesday, said the law lays out “good causes” for rejecting jurors that shouldn’t be changed.

“If the Legislature had intended a trial court to exercise discretion with respect to these specific challenges, it could have omitted the word ‘good’ or it could have provided for the exercise of judicial discretion,” he said, “but it did not do so.”

Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger cast the dissenting vote.