State v. Benson

OPINION

LYLE REID, Special Justice.

This case presents for review the appeal by the petitioner, James J. Benson, from the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals affirming the trial court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The petitioner asserts that he was denied the right to a fair trial before an impartial judge because the judge who presided over his criminal trial solieitated a bribe from him. The judgment denying the petition is reversed, and the petitioner is granted a new trial.

I

In 1987, the petitioner was convicted of two counts of aggravated kidnapping and one…