Gregory Grotemeyer v. Rodney Hickman

We review the denial of a writ of habeas corpus. The most substantial issue is whether there was juror misconduct that would entitle the petitioner to a new trial.

Facts

The facts in this case are peculiar, at least to our eyes, to the point of being seriously bizarre. That the facts are bizarre is significant to our analysis.

The victim of the crimes was a young woman who had just moved into an apartment in San Francisco. By the end of the afternoon, the movers had put all her goods into the apartment, including her baby grand piano. Relaxing from the stress of moving, she began playing a classical piece on her piano.

The tenant downstairs from her apartment came upstairs to see her, but not to welcome her. Instead, he complained about the noise. As they were discussing her piano playing, not amicably, the petitioner stepped out of his apartment down the hall from the victim’s and said he would be nailing his apartment door shut.

The music-hater (actually he was not a music-hater — he testified that the music “sounded nice, but it was very loud”) testified that the petitioner said, “Do you mind if I pound this nail in my door?” The victim looked kind of puzzled and said,…