Wright v. State

MURPHY, Chief Judge.

Willie Wright was charged in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County with robbery with a dangerous and deadly weapon and use of a handgun in a crime of violence. At the beginning of his trial before a jury, the clerk stated to the jury that Wright had “pleaded guilty.” The clerk’s statement was wrong, since Wright had pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. Neither the trial judge nor counsel for the parties corrected the clerk’s error; presumably, none of them heard the erroneous statement. That at least some jurors heard the clerk’s misstatement became evident when the…