Brown v. State

I respectfully dissent. I see no manifest necessity for a mistrial here. A juror, having twice professed his ability to serve and serve impartially, changed his mind after the trial began (and jeopardy had attached). The State, armed with new information that the juror was a jail chaplain and likely to be favorably disposed to the defendant, moved for a mistrial. This is unlike the Mooberry and Patterson cases cited by Justice Boehm where the trial court declared the mistrial sua sponte, rather than on the motion of the State.1 See Mooberry v. State, 157 Ind.App. 354, 357, 300 N.E.2d 125, 127…