Syracuse, NY – A Syracuse man found guilty A murder conviction in a 2019 fatal shooting case was overturned Friday because a potential juror nodded rather than gave a verbal confirmation that he could remain impartial.

Miequin Cheese, 33, was convicted in 2021 of fatally shooting 26-year-old Lakquan Golden on a covered porch of a Rockland Ave home in June 2019.

On Friday, his conviction was overturned by the state Court of Appeals because of a legal issue that arose during jury selection.

While lawyers were questioning potential jurors, one man said he would file a lawsuit against the defendant if he chose not to testify, according to the written decision.

When the juror was asked — along with other jurors — if he could put aside any bias and remain impartial, he nodded rather than gave a verbal reassurance.

The decision said appeals court judges ruled that the juror’s nod was “insufficient to constitute such a clear statement.”

During jury selection, Cheese and his defense team engaged in a “challenge for the cause,” intended to allow the parties to eliminate a potentially biased juror without having to use one of 20 “strict challenges” allotted to them. These limited challenges can be used to remove a juror from consideration without explanation.

Judge Thomas Miller overruled the defendant’s objection to the case when potential juror bias was pointed out because the group nodded when asked if they could remain impartial.

Defense attorneys had to use one of their limited preliminary challenges to dismiss the juror.

The appeals court ruled that Miller should have accepted the case for cause and dismissed the juror.

In the decision, it was stated that judges should be careful when deciding on the objection to the case, because the worst thing that can happen is that an impartial juror will be replaced by another juror.

The impact of losing one of the limited challenges in the case means the defense “may have exhausted all available challenges.” This meant there would be no challenge of removing another potential juror.

This effect was the basis for the appeals court’s decision to “reverse the decision and grant the defendant a new trial,” the ruling said.

The appeals court also ruled that the evidence used to convict Cheese was legally sufficient. The decision to overturn the verdict is based entirely on the error made in jury selection. The case relied largely on circumstantial evidence.

The case was: frustrating Due to the non-cooperation of important witnesses for prosecutors at the time. Prosecutors relied on the fact that Cheese admitted to being at the home on Rockland Avenue at the time of the attack. He was also dressed in all black that day, matching the description of the shooter.

Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, question or comment? You can reach him at: [email protected].