Drayton v. Hayes

IRVING R. KAUFMAN, Chief Judge:

In this worrisome case, a state trial judge’s clumsy effort at comedy, which took the form of a practical joke played on defense counsel at a crucial stage in a criminal proceeding, led the attorney to move for a mistrial. The motion was granted. The defendant now claims that he cannot be retried because the judge’s outlandish conduct deprived him of the opportunity of going to the jury. Regrettably, we are required to hold that the law prevents us from invoking the double jeopardy clause to bar a second trial in the absence of proof that the judge acted in bad…