Tag Archives: Hung Jury

A Crisp county defendant charged with Forgery gets hung jury after a 3 day trial

The Defendant was charged with forgery after depositing two checks into her bank account that were fake. At trial, we showed the jury how she applied for a job and was offered a position as a payroll clerk working out of her house. Her duties were to cut checks for the employees of various companies and mail them out. She received training and was required to have specialized equipment and software. Although at first, her employer did not pay her as agreed, he finally authorized her to cut her paycheck just like she was cutting checks for other employees. She deposited the first check and her employer then advised her he had overpaid her and instructed her to withdraw a large portion of the check and send it to a third party in another state. He then authorized her to cut a second paycheck to herself. When she deposited that check, he again instructed her to send some of the money to a third party. This time she refused. A few days later she was notified by the bank that the checks were a forgery. When she was unable to repay the money, the bank turned it over for prosecution. We showed the jury how she was a victim of a scam and not the perpetrator. The state argued that she should have known this was a scam and because she didn’t, she must be an accomplice. We countered that if everyone figured out the scams before falling prey to them, the scams would not exist. In any event, the law does not criminalize not being as smart and savvy as the next guy. Unless the state could prove she knew it was a scam, the jury must acquit. After a day and a half of deliberations, the jury ended in a hung jury. Anytime our client does not go to jail, it’s a win!