The Omission of Acquittal: State v. Michael Steven White

The Supreme Court of Louisiana recently reversed the burglary convictions of Michael Steven White because the written verdict form provided to the jury failed to include a "not guilty" option. Although the trial judge gave correct verbal instructions, the written form listed only guilty, guilty of attempted simple burglary, and guilty as the possible responses. The majority opinion determined that omitting the presumption of innocence from the final deliberation document was a patent error that potentially influenced the jury’s decision-making process. Evidence of juror confusion during polling further convinced the court that the mistake was not harmless, despite the state's claims of overwhelming evidence. While a concurring justice argued the error was structural and required an automatic new trial, a dissenting justice maintained that the trial's overall context made the omission harmless. Ultimately, the court vacated White's twenty-year sentence and remanded the case for a new trial to protect his constitutional rights.