Media Coverage

Jurors respond to change of vote
By Steven P. Wagner, swagner@forumcomm.com
Metro/State - 04/04/2007

Juror affidavits filed in Mevludin Hidanovic’s case reinforce why he shouldn’t receive a new trial for last summer’s Red River Valley Fair fight, a prosecutor says.

Instead, a Jan. 5 guilty verdict for Hidanovic should remain intact after 11 jurors responded to Becky Rettig’s claims that ethnicity motivated her arguments to convict, Assistant Cass County State’s Attorney Mark Boening wrote in court papers filed Tuesday.

The affidavits vary in response to claims by Rettig, a juror who filed an affidavit claiming she convinced jurors to convict Hidanovic based on her bad experiences with Bosnians.

She said she had a change of heart after East Central District Judge Wade Webb sentenced Hidanovic to 18 months in prison for engaging in a riot while armed. The charge stems from a June 24 brawl involving 20 to 30 people.

Paperwork filed on his behalf claims juror misconduct and six other factors as reasons the judge should grant a new trial. Defense lawyer David Chapman likely will amend the paperwork before a Thursday hearing in the case. The amended paperwork will add details that have emerged since the trial ended.

Hidanovic, 29, is a Roma Bosnian who fled his wartorn country for Germany in 1992. He immigrated to the United States and Fargo in 1999.

Affidavits show six jurors reporting Rettig made comments about Bosnians during the trial’s deliberations.

“I changed my mind many times during deliberation,” said David J. Danielson of West Fargo. “Becky was very influential in the deciding process, but there was a lot of different factors discussed.”

Juror Deana Karnopp said her decision was based on the law.

“I don’t believe that it affected my personal decision, as I was trying to go by the way the law was written,” Karnopp wrote.

Two of the six jurors said they criticized Rettig for making prejudicial comments, and two couldn’t remember her specific comments.

At least two jurors disputed Rettig’s claim that she was the lone guilty vote at the start of deliberations. Another juror said Rettig never made the prejudicial comments, and another couldn’t recall.

The jury’s forewoman, Leah A. Bender of Fargo, declined to make a statement about deliberations in her affidavit. Rettig said she argued about the case with Bender during a cigarette break and outside of jury deliberations.

Last week, Dean Wawers, a Cass County sheriff ’s detective, asked jurors to submit affidavits in response to Rettig’s claims that negative comments about Hidanovic’s ethnicity affected the jury’s verdict.

“Rettig did not provide additional information to the jury about Mevludin Hidanovic, but discussed generic experiences with an ethnic group,” Assistant Cass County State’s Attorney Mark Boening wrote in papers submitted to the court Tuesday.

“An average juror in North Dakota is unlikely to have his or her own prejudices aroused by an appeal to prejudices against an ethnic group,” Boening said. “Becky Rettig may have something similar to ‘buyer’s remorse’ over her verdict in this case, but there is no reason to grant the defendant a new trial.”

Rettig’s claim is an example of juror misconduct and serves as one of Hidanovic’s seven arguments for a new trial, according to paperwork filed on his behalf.

Sheriff ’s officials said they’re interested in any connections between Rettig and Hidanovic’s wife, Chanda, since both apparently attended school in West Fargo.

Both women, who are about three years apart in age, deny knowing each other until a coincidental meeting at Fargo’s Space Aliens restaurant after the trial. No jurors returned calls seeking comment Tuesday. State rules limit jurors from talking about how they arrived at a verdict unless outside influences or chance affected the decision. The rule makes it difficult to approach jurors for questioning, Detective Wawers said. “This is pretty big stuff,” he said. “This is the jury system in Cass County.” Readers can reach Forum reporter Steven P. Wagner at (701) 241-5542.