Turner v. State

Blackburn, Presiding Judge.

Following a jury trial, Bernard Turner appeals his 2003 conviction for armed robbery, arguing only that the court erred in instructing the jury during an Allen charge that the case “must be decided by a jury.” We hold that this was not reversible error.

In 2004, Burchette v. State 1 held that, “when giving an Allen charge to a deadlocked jury, trial courts in this State should no longer include language stating that the case ‘must be decided by some jury.’ ” 2 At least one subsequent case has emphasized the “plainly prospective language” used in Burchette, implying…