Roberts v. State

During deliberations in this criminal trial for lewd molestation by a father of his daughter, a juror sent out a note disclosing that she had a child who would be attending the same school as the victim, and she felt the matter was “too close to home.” Rather than conduct an inquiry, the court allowed the jury to continue to deliberate until it reached its verdict. We hold that the court erred in failing to conduct any inquiry and reverse for a new trial.

The state charged appellant, George Roberts, with three counts of lewd and lascivious molestation and one count of lewd conduct arising out…