The People, Plaintiff and Respondent v. Fred Lewis Weatherton, Defendant and Appellant

Summary

The court reversed the judgment because juror P.P. repeatedly discussed the case before deliberations, prejudged defendant's guilt, advocated for a guilty verdict and death sentence, and communicated with jurors during deliberations. Although the trial court found serious misconduct and credited its finding that P.P. intended only to vote guilty initially, the court held that the misconduct created a substantial likelihood of actual bias that the prosecution failed to rebut. The resulting defect was structural and required reversal without harmless-error review.