Johnson v. State
Annotate this CasePetitioner Shawn Johnson was convicted of robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and related offenses. At trial, the State admitted two inoperable cell phones allegedly used by Petitioner's cousin, who was a State's witness at Petitioner's trial. While the jury was deliberating, one of the jurors inserted his own battery into one of the cell phones, turned it on, and discovered information corroborative of the cousin's testimony. Petitioner moved for a mistrial, alleging that the action of the juror constituted an improper investigation, thereby violating Petitioner's constitutional right to an impartial jury. The trial court declined to declare a mistrial. The court of special appeals affirmed the conviction. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the trial court abused its discretion in denying the mistrial without first conducting a voir dire of the jury to ascertain the nature and scope of potential prejudice resulting from at least one juror's exposure to the electronic data on the cell phone.
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