Hernandez Murder Trial Juror Dismissed

A juror was dismissed Monday in the murder trial of Rogelio and Gabriela Hernandez after the bilingual panelist told the judge that she disagreed with an interpreter’s Spanish translation of testimony in the case.

Because the juror said she could not trust the interpreter, Superior Court Judge James P. Cloninger said her ability to render an unbiased opinion had been compromised.

The juror, whose name was not available, was dismissed early in the day that was filled with testimony from social workers and a neighbor of the Hernandezes, who are accused of beating 2-year-old daughter Joselin Amor to death last year.

The juror, who is fluent in Spanish, told the judge that a translator used the word “cure” when a witness actually said “treatment.” She was adamant that she could not be wrong in the translation.

“I just can’t sit here and watch that happen without saying something,” the woman said after the rest of the jurors had left the courtroom.

Although Cloninger had encouraged the woman to speak up if she felt that a word or phrase had been misinterpreted, he said that unless she could agree to continue to listen to the interpretation as the other jurors did, she would have to be dismissed.

“Are you telling us you can’t do that?” the judge asked.

“No,” the juror replied. “I’m a truthful and trustworthy person, and she’s not saying what the witness said. . . . I feel the jurors deserve better.”

With that, the woman was dismissed over the objections of Gabriela Hernandez’s attorney William Maxwell, and an alternate juror was put in her place.

Maxwell would not elaborate as to why he objected to having the juror dismissed.

Prosecutor Dee Corona said the incident was very unusual.

Earlier in the day, the juror had been admonished for bringing a large medical book into the courtroom. The judge was concerned that she was using the book as a reference for testimony in the case, but she insisted that she was using it to rest her feet on.

This is not the first time a bilingual juror has questioned a court translation, said Cecilia Isaac, who supervises court interpreters. “It does not happen very often,” she said.

After the juror was dismissed, the case proceeded with testimony from Rogelio Hernandez’s brother and caseworkers who had visited the Hernandezes and their daughter over a two-year period starting in 1994.

Prosecutors allege that the couple beat, burned and battered the child and ultimately caused her death. Joselin was removed from her parents’ custody six weeks after her birth, when she was admitted to the hospital with nine broken ribs and broken ankles.

The infant was eventually taken in by maternal grandparents Miguel and Amor Nieto. But in March 1996 she was returned to her parents for a 60-day trial home stay.

Prosecutors allege that after her grandmother died in a car accident in May of that year, Joselin’s condition gradually deteriorated. She died June 22 due to severe blows to the abdomen, according to the county coroner.

Defense attorneys maintain that Rogelio, 20, and Gabriela, 19, were young and ignorant parents, but not malicious and abusive.

But the couple has split over the trial, with Gabriela recently filing for divorce. Defense attorneys have argued that the two cannot get a fair trial if they are tried together.

On Monday, Assistant Public Defender Doug Daily, Rogelio’s attorney, made a motion to declare a mistrial and have the case against Rogelio and Gabriela severed.

Daily’s contention is that Gabriela’s defense hurts his client. Gabriela contends that she is not guilty of abusing her child and did not take action to stop the abuse because she was intimidated by her husband.

Cloninger said he would hear the motion at a later date and allowed the case to proceed.

The day ended with testimony from county social worker Catherine De La Torre-Martinez, who supervised Joselin’s case from July 1994 until May 1996.

Martinez detailed some of the injuries Joselin suffered and was questioned about why the infant was not permanently removed from her parents’ custody.

Martinez said state law favors family reunification and that Rogelio and Gabriela Hernandez went through parenting classes and therapy during the separation from their daughter.

Both the defense and prosecution said the case will look at the culpability of the county’s Public Social Services Agency in Joselin’s death. Martinez is scheduled to return to the stand today.