People v. Jones

Defendant, Kelvin Jones, was convicted of burglary and sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment after a jury trial. Defendant now appeals, contending that he was denied a fair trial because one juror was described by the court as “half asleep” during the trial. In the alternative, defendant contends he was denied the effective assistance of counsel when his trial counsel failed to take remedial action. We reverse and remand for a new trial.

The evidence at trial revealed that on May 4, 2004, at approximately 9:20 p.m., Officer Tim Bassie of the Union Pacific Railroad police witnessed defendant and…