BLJ Editor’s Notebook: Past ruling in Buffalo cited in decision

Precedent for the decision made last week by Judge Penny Wolfgang to discard the verdict in the Jeffrey Basil trial came from a Buffalo court. Wolfgang, an Erie County Supreme Court justice, vacated the second-degree murder and tampering with evidence convictions after she found that Basil was denied his constitutional right to a fair and unbiased jury due to a juror’s misconduct. She said she would not allow the verdict to stand because it became apparent that one of the jurors failed to advise…