The appellate courts were, in effect, exercising the so-called supervisory power of an appellate court to review proceedings of trial courts and to reverse judgments of such courts which the appellate court concludes were wrong.
Judgment against Frank Agnello reversed; judgment against other defendants affirmed.
denied, 506 U. S. ___ (1992); Brock v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 874 F. 2d 307 (CA5 1989) (reversing judgment entered on jury verdict for plaintiffs because evidence regarding causation was insufficient), modified, 884 F. 2d 1989(cert1989), cert.
Not once, but twice, an appeals court has unanimously reversed judgments, in one case on the rare grounds that the panel just disagreed on the facts.
The Report criticized the practice of reversing judgments for errors which "did not in the least affect the substantial rights of the parties, the real merits of the case having been properly adjudicated upon the first trial". H.R.Rep.
Accordingly, we reverse the judgment in No. 61 and vacate the judgment in No. 59. Judgment in No. 61 reversed and judgment in No. 59 vacated.
The four who join this opinion would reverse the judgment of the Vermont Supreme Court.
For these reasons, we reverse the judgment of the district court and render judgment in favor of Maxwell.
Consequently, I would reverse the judgment below and remand with instructions to vacate the judgment of conviction.
Mr. Justice BRENNAN's dissent also suggests that we were wrong to reverse the judgment affirming Almeida-Sanchez' conviction if we uphold the judgment of conviction against Peltier.
Judgment reversed, and the record remanded with instructions to reverse the judgment of the Circuit Court of Grundy County, and to direct that court to award a new trial.
