Earl Ray Lyell v. Paul Renico

I join the majority opinion’s holding that Lyell’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus should be granted as a result of the trial court’s expressions of bias which denied Lyell a fair trial, but write separately with respect to the trial court’s apparent coercion of the jury as a result of the trial court’s improper polling of the jury. I would find that the trial court’s improper polling and inadequate Allen charge are also bases for granting Lyell’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

The instant case arguably represents the most objectionable form of polling conceivable prior to a court…