In the state of Washington Cal Coulbourn Brown received a death sentence for the 1991 murder of Holly Washa. Brown later decided to petition the federal district court asserting that one of the jurors in the case had been inappropriately released from jury duty. According to Brown's argument, the juror in question was never interviewed about the individual's point of view on the death penalty. The District Court refused Brown's petition and Brown appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court. The Ninth Circuit Court overturned the denial of the District Court and believed that the dismissal of the juror in question defied previously established Supreme Court standards. Further, the Ninth Circuit Court ruled that in the act of releasing the juror, Brown was negatively affected and his sentence was the result of said actions. The decision of the District court temporarily reversed the initial death sentence imposed on Brown.
The case was appealed. In turn, a decision presented on June 4, 2007 by the Supreme Court reversed the earlier decisions made by the Ninth Circuit Court, asserting that the dismissed juror's understanding of the law was significantly unsound. The decision was a majority ruling asserting that the anonymous juror was questioned about his understanding of the death penalty; the juror displayed a considerable lack of knowledge pertaining to the legal responsibilities of a juror. Thus, the Supreme Court ruled that the juror in Brown's case was appropriately released from jury duty and that the Ninth Circuit Court mistakenly reversed the initial death sentence.
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