Tennessee v. Smith
Annotate this CaseThe issue before the Supreme Court in this case centered on the appropriate response when a trial court learns during a jury's deliberations that a juror exchanged Facebook messages with one of the State's witnesses during the trial. The trial court declined the defendant's request to hold a hearing to question the juror and witness to ascertain whether the communications required a mistrial. The appellate court concluded that the trial court did no err in declining the request for a hearing. The Supreme Court disagreed, however, vacated the judgment and remanded the case for a hearing.
Court Description: Authoring Judge: Justice William C. Koch, Jr.
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