Appeals court rejects juror bias claim

SPOKANE — The Washington Court of Appeals, Division III, rejected a Soap Lake man’s challenge of a jury verdict on the basis of alleged juror bias.

Jesse Criswell of Soap Lake was previously convicted by a Grant County jury of two counts of forgery and a single count of third-degree theft. As a result, Criswell was sentenced to 27 months on each of the forgery counts and 300 days in jail with 270 days suspended for two years on the theft charge.

The convictions relate to a number of counterfeit bills that were passed off by Criswell at Hawk Fuel in Ephrata in 2016. On May 2, 2016 the manager of the business was counting money received during the graveyard shift and found nine counterfeit $50 bills.

Video surveillance was reviewed for April 30-May 1 and Criswell was viewed purchasing smoking devices and other items with eight $50 bills. At the time of the purchase when the cashier was bagging up his items Criswell grabbed additional merchandise and paid for it with another $50 bill.

The business manager gathered the cash from the tills again on May 3, 2016 and found a tenth counterfeit $50 bill. Video footage was reviewed and Criswell was spotted again passing off a $50 bill during a purchase.

Criswell appealed the decision and attempted to argue his constitutional right to an impartial jury was violated during trial proceedings. He claimed a juror lied to the court when asked if they had a personal relationship with Criswell. The juror failed to respond to the question and Criswell argues the juror knows him and “likely holds bias against him.”

The juror, according to Criswell, had been involved in an intimate relationship with Criswell’s girlfriend, which resulted in “uncordial interactions since.”

“We do not know if Jesse Criswell knew of the alleged bias of the one juror before trial. Regardless, the trial record lacks any facts concerning any potential bias of the juror. A party must identify a portion of the trial court record to sustain a statement for additional grounds for reviews,” reads the appeals court’s decision.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at rbyrd@columbiabasinherald.com.