McDonough Power Equipment, Inc. v. Greenwood
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox SCOTUS case
|Litigants=McDonough Power Equipment v. Greenwood
|ArgueDate=November 28
|ArgueYear=1983
|DecideDate=January 18
|DecideYear=1984
|FullName=McDonough Power Equipment, Inc. v. Greenwood, et al.
|USVol=464
|USPage=548
|ParallelCitations=104 S. Ct. 845; 78 L. Ed. 2d 663
|Prior={{cite court |litigants=Greenwood et al. v. McDonough Power Equipment, Inc. |vol=687 |reporter=F.2d |opinion=338 |pinpoint= |court=10th Cir. |date=1982 |url= |quote=}}
|Subsequent=
|Holding=A juror's failure to respond to question on voir dire did not require new trial absent a showing of denial of right to impartial jury.
|Majority=Rehnquist
|JoinMajority=Burger, White, Blackmun, Powell, Stevens, O'Connor
|Concurrence=Blackmun
|JoinConcurrence=Stevens, O'Connor
|Concurrence2=Brennan
|JoinConcurrence2=Marshall
|Dissent=
|JoinDissent=
|LawsApplied=Rule 61 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, {{usc|28|2111}}
}}
McDonough Power Equipment, Inc. v. Greenwood, 464 U.S. 548 (1984), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States that established a standard for challenging a verdict based on inaccurate answers given by prospective jurors during voir dire.Yeazell, S.C. Civil Procedure, Seventh Edition. Aspen Publishers, New York, NY: 2008, p. 594
Background
Bill Greenwood was a juvenile in Kansas whose feet were severed on a riding lawnmower manufactured by McDonough. Before the three-week trials, one of the jurors failed to disclose that her son had sustained a broken leg as a result of an exploding tire. Although McDonough would likely have used a peremptory challenge if they had known the background, there was no direct conflict of interest and the rest of the jurors quickly ruled against the manufacturer in deliberations.
Decision
The standard adopted by the Court in McDonough was that a verdict could be challenged because of inaccurate answers given during voir dire only if the juror failed to honestly answer a question and an honest answer would have provided a valid basis for a challenge for cause.Yeazell, p. 594
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://supreme.justia.com/us/464/548/case.html Full text of the opinion at Justia.com]
Category:United States Supreme Court cases
Category:Federal Rules of Civil Procedure case law
Category:1984 in United States case law
Category:United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court