LAW 110 Chapter Peterson-v-Wilson: Peterson-v-Wilson
Document Summary
Peterson (plaintiff), filed suit in district court after he was fired as grant director at texan southern university (tsu). Plaintiff filed suit in district court after he was fired as grant director at tsu. He claimed that his property interest in his employment at tsu was damaged when he was arbitrarily and capriciously terminated. Four months later, the district granted a new trial, not for insufficient evidence, but instead based on comments the jurors made to the court after returning the verdict. The court concluded that the jury had completely disregarded the court"s instructions. Under the federal rules of evidence (fre) rule 606(b) a court may not impeach a jury"s verdict based on the judge"s belief that the jurors misunderstood the court"s instructions from juror testimony. The court reversed the district court"s grant of a new trial and reinstated the original verdict in favor of.
