Ewing v. Woods, 2:15-cv-10523

Darrell Ewing was convicted by a jury in Wayne County, Michigan, of first-degree murder, three counts of assault with intent to commit murder, and felony-firearm for a December 29, 2009 drive‑by shooting that killed J.B. Watson.
At a pretrial hearing the prosecutor sought to qualify Police Officer Terri Graves to testify about gangs and internet‑sourced gang materials; the trial court denied Graves as a witness because her sources were unreliable and largely hearsay.
After two days of deliberations the jury sent a note saying it had a "serious difference of opinion" and asked if it could be declared hung; the court sent them back without giving a deadlock instruction; the next day the jury returned guilty verdicts.
Posttrial, Juror Kathleen Byrnes filed an affidavit stating Juror #13 had brought Facebook/eulogy material about Ewing/Watson into deliberations and Juror #5 had Googled gang codes/pecking order and relayed gang‑hierarchy theories to the jury.
The trial court denied an evidentiary hearing and a new trial, finding the jurors were not exposed to extraneous evidence beyond what was presented at trial; Michigan appellate courts affirmed on the record.
The federal district court granted habeas relief, holding the trial court’s refusal to hold a hearing on juror misconduct (use of extraneous internet evidence) violated due process and that the error was not harmless; the court conditionally ordered a new trial or release.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether jurors’ use of extraneous internet/Facebook information during deliberations violated due process	Byrnes: jurors consulted online material (photo, eulogy, gang codes, pecking‑order) that tainted deliberations and changed a previously deadlocked jury	State: internet material was duplicative of trial evidence or innocuous; no hearing required because extraneous material did not affect verdict	Court: Granted—denied hearing was error; extraneous information could have influenced deadlocked jury and was not shown harmless
Whether the trial court erred in refusing to give a deadlocked (Allen) instruction when jurors reported they were unable to agree	Ewing: requested deadlock instruction after jury reported serious division	State: trial judge declined, then sent jurors back to deliberate; no reversible error argued because verdict followed	Court: Moot — rendered unnecessary to decide because habeas relief granted on juror misconduct claim
Whether Tyree Washington’s post‑trial affidavit confessing to the murder required a new trial	Ewing: newly discovered evidence (Washington affidavit) proves his innocence or warrants hearing	State: challenged sufficiency/timing and relied on appellate affirmance; argued other grounds support conviction	Court: Moot — decision on juror misconduct made Washington affidavit claim unnecessary to resolve

Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209 (trial judge must ensure jury decides solely on trial evidence; post‑trial hearing may resolve juror partiality)
Dennis v. United States, 339 U.S. 162 (defendant entitled to opportunity to prove actual juror bias)
Nevers v. Killinger, 169 F.3d 352 (6th Cir.) (refusal to permit any opportunity to establish juror bias is contrary to law)
O'Neal v. McAninch, 513 U.S. 432 (if judge has grave doubt about harmlessness of error, conviction cannot stand)
Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362 (AEDPA standard: "contrary to" and "unreasonable application" of Supreme Court precedent)
Wagner v. Smith, 581 F.3d 410 (presumption of correctness for state court factual findings under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1))