Washington v. State

The defendant was not entitled to a mistrial after a juror brought a newspaper into the jury room on the second day of trial, which contained a brief accounting of the first day's events.

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The appellant, Joseph Washington, appeals from his conviction for the malice murder of Jarvis Maxwell.1 On appeal, Washington contends that the trial court erred by ruling against his claim that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel and by denying a motion for mistrial that he made after a juror brought a newspaper article about the case to court on the morning of the second day of trial. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that these contentions are without merit, and thus affirm Washington’s convictions. 1. At trial, Craig Fields testified that the victim had been a friend of his since they were children, and that he also knew Washington. Fields added that on the evening of May 25, 2002, he and Maxwell were sitting on the front porch of an apartment and talking and that Fields’s cousin was standing nearby. Fields testified that his cousin called him to come to where he was standing, and that Fields got up and took a few steps toward his cousin. Fields then heard a number of gun shots, and saw Washington standing about 12 feet away shooting at Maxwell. Fields added that he and Washington looked right at each other and that Washington then got into a car and drove off. Maxwell died from nine bullet wounds to various parts of his body.

Washington’s girlfriend testified that Washington gave her a gun shortly before he was arrested for the shooting. Forensic evidence established that Washington’s fingerprints were on the gun and that the bullets and shell casings recovered from the crime scene and the victim’s body were fired from Washington’s gun. Moreover, when Washington was arrested, he was wearing the type of red and black athletic shoes that Fields testified he was wearing on the night of the shooting, and Washington’s girlfriend testified that Washington sometimes drove a small red car similar to the one that Fields testified that Washington drove on the night of the crimes.

Washington v. State

The defendant was not entitled to a mistrial after a juror brought a newspaper into the jury room on the second day of trial, which contained a brief accounting of the first day's events.

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