Thursday, 4:30 PM
SJC: Man can be retried in killing of girl, 10
(Globe file photos)
Joseph Cousin, shown in court in December 2004, can be retried for the killing of Trina Persad, whose picture is being held by her mother, Bernadette Fernandes, during a press conference.
By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff
The state's highest court ruled today that a man who is accused in the notorious 2002 killing of 10-year-old Trina Persad can be retried, rejecting defense arguments that Suffolk County prosecutors in fear of an acquittal deliberately caused a mistrial by reporting that five jurors had concealed their criminal records.
The Supreme Judicial Court ruled that prosecutors had the right to run criminal background checks on members of the jury, which had deadlocked on the fate of Joseph Cousin, particularly given a note from the jury foreman saying that several jurors seemed biased and were claiming that Cousin and a codefendant had been "set up" by Boston police.
The background checks uncovered that five jurors had criminal records -- two of them extensive -- that they had failed to disclose on questionnaires during jury selection. As a result of the checks, Superior Court Judge Margaret Hinkle sent three jurors with criminal records home, leaving too few jurors to continue the trial.
"Inquiring into the criminal records of jurors in a criminal case for the purpose of determining their qualifications to serve and their impartiality fits squarely within the 'criminal justice duties' of prosecutors,'" Justice Judith A. Cowin wrote on behalf of the court, quoting the state law on criminal records.
As a result of the mistrial, the court system ended up revising jury questionnaires.
Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, said that his boss hailed the ruling and that prosecutors "fully intend to retry Mr. Cousin." He gave no timetable.
Cousin's lawyer, Willie J. Davis, was not immediately available for comment.
