Bell v. State

Leben, J.:

A member of the jury that convicted Eric L. Bell of rape had a rape charge pending against him when he was selected to serve on the jury — a fact that die juror intentionally concealed when all jurors were asked whether any had “ever been arrested before, for anything.” Bell filed a habeas-corpus motion under K.S.A. 60-1507 seeking a new trial, but the district court denied it because Bell hadn’t shown specifically that this juror acted differently because of the pending rape charge against him.

But when a juror intentionally responds falsely to a question during jury selection and…