LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Nevada Supreme Court has thrown out the conviction of a Black man who was found guilty in Elko of attempted murder and other violent felonies.
The state high court ruled Jan. 13 that Sean Maurice Dean's jury was tainted by "harmful racial stereotypes" presented during pretrial questioning by his defense attorney.
The decision could get Dean a new trial in a stabbing case that resulted in 2019 in a sentence of 12 to 31 years in prison. His trial attorney, Gary Woodbury, declined to comment about the ruling.
The Supreme Court also faulted Judge Alvin Kacin in Elko for not telling Woodbury outside the presence of prospective jurors to change his line of questioning.
