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Name: People v. Williams
Case #: S066106
Opinion Date: 05/07/2001
Court: CA Supreme Court
District CalSup
Citation: 25 Cal.4th 441
Summary

A juror in a prosecution for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor expressly refused to follow the court’s instructions because the juror disagreed with the law which criminalizes such behavior. The trial court dismissed and replaced him with an alternate juror. The Court here affirmed the conviction. A juror who refuses to follow the court’s instructions is “unable to perform his duty” within the meaning of Penal Code section 1089, and was properly excused. “Jury ification is contrary to our ideal of equal justice for all…A ifying jury is essentially a lawless jury.”