State v. Brown

The opinion was delivered by

Luckert, J.:

A jury convicted Eric Brown of felony murder and

attempted robbery. We reverse his convictions, finding he was denied a fair trial as the result of comments by the trial court. In the disputed comments, the trial court advised the jury that because of concerns for the jurors’ safety and security, steps were being taken to prevent further disclosure of the jurors’ identities. In the context of this case, we conclude that the trial court did not take adequate precautions to minimize the prejudicial effects of the comments.

The comments were made following…