State v. Jordan

Lewis, Chief Justice:

This is an appeal by the State from an order of the circuit court reversing respondent’s conviction in magistrate court of the offense of driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicants. The conviction was reversed upon a finding that the magistrate erred in her ruling relative to the taking of notes by a juror during the prosecution’s closing argument. The State appeals from this finding.

The facts are not in dispute. The return of the magistrate shows that during the State’s closing argument to the jury respondent objected to one of the jurors taking…