Episode
The Omission of Acquittal: State v. Michael Steven White
- Podcast
- Swear on the Stand
- Published
- Apr 21, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3352
- Processing state
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Summary
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.