Misdemeanor conviction overturned by Supreme Court
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In this photo, Keith Wood, of Canadian Lakes, is pictured accepting a Spokesperson of Liberty Award from the Michigan Libertarian Party in 2017. On July 28, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned a misdemeanor jury tampering conviction that alleged Wood tried to influence potential jurors in front of the Mecosta County Courthouse for distributing pamphlets. Wood said he was excited to be out from underneath the erroneous case and conviction.
lessPhoto: Courtesy PhotoIn this photo, Keith Wood, of Canadian Lakes, is pictured accepting a Spokesperson of Liberty Award from the Michigan Libertarian Party in 2017. On July 28, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned a
... more
In this photo, Keith Wood, of Canadian Lakes, is pictured accepting a Spokesperson of Liberty Award from the Michigan Libertarian Party in 2017. On July 28, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned a misdemeanor jury tampering conviction that alleged Wood tried to influence potential jurors in front of the Mecosta County Courthouse for distributing pamphlets. Wood said he was excited to be out from underneath the erroneous case and conviction.
lessIn this photo, Keith Wood, of Canadian Lakes, is pictured accepting a Spokesperson of Liberty Award from the Michigan Libertarian Party in 2017. On July 28, 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned a
... moreMECOSTA COUNTY — Keith Wood never lost hope that justice would eventually prevail in his case.
For nearly the last five years, the Canadian Lakes resident has been fighting to have a misdemeanor conviction cleared from his name.
In 2015, Wood was arrested and charged with jury tampering for distributing pamphlets outside of the Mecosta County Courthouse. On that November day, Wood was accused of trying to influence potential jurors.
He was later convicted, which ignited an appeal.
Last week, however, on July 28, Wood received a phone call from his attorney, David Kallman, who broke the news: The Michigan Supreme Court overturned Wood’s conviction.
“I just rejoiced,” Wood recalled. “I was excited to be out from underneath this erroneous case and conviction.”
Justice Elizabeth Clement said in a 5-2 opinion, “… that the individuals here who were merely summoned for jury duty and had not yet participated in a case were not jurors,” the Associated Press reported.
Moments after speaking with his attorney, Wood quickly shared the news with his family.
“I got tears in my eyes. Tears of joy,” he said.
Throughout his appeal, Wood did note there were times he was deflated, but never lost sight that his conviction would ultimately be reversed. He said he always looked to his faith and religion to help keep him positive.
“Essentially, I believe that the Lord … gave me a promise that I would be victorious in this fight,” Wood said.
Looking back to the day of his arrest, it was supposed to be his first day of “educating the people,” Wood said.
“That was my first day of my education campaign,” he explained, noting he never had a motive to target potential jurors.
“There were court employees that were walking up the sidewalk,” he said. “ … I gave them a pamphlet as well. I wasn’t asking anyone if they were there doing this for jury duty.”
Wood said he intends to continue practicing his freedom of speech in similar ways, but in the meantime, he looks forward to living his life without a criminal record.
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August 08, 2020 at 12:36AM
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Justice prevails: Wood shares legal battle journey - The Pioneer
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