State v. Cummings

WYNN, Judge.

Under North Carolina law, a trial court must grant a mistrial when conduct takes place inside or outside the courtroom which results in substantial and irreparable prejudice to the defendant. State v. Brown, 315 N.C. 40, 56, 337 S.E.2d 808, 821 (1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1165, 90 L. Ed. 2d 733 (1986), overruled on other grounds, State v. Vandiver, 321 N.C. 570, 364 S.E.2d 373 (1988). In this case, Defendant argues that double jeopardy bars retrying him because during his initial trial, District Court Judge Charles E. Brown, upon discovering he had knowledge of the facts of the…