Approved ~~ MJM
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The murder trial of a former Florida sheriff’s deputy charged with killing his son-in-law was declared a mistrial after a juror looked at his cellphone during closing arguments.
Circuit Judge Jeffrey D. Gillen halted the trial of Carlton Nebergall Jr. on Tuesday, not long before it was expected to go to the jury, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Defense attorney Michael Salnick asked for the mistrial, telling the Post the juror had already been admonished for sleeping during testimony. No alternates remained to replace him. Prosecutors declined comment. The trial had lasted six days.
Salnick said he didn’t know what the juror was doing on the cellphone but said that the act “so absolutely subverted the administration of justice that there was no way I could go further.”
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Article URL: https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state/florida-juror-checking-phone-results-in-murder-trial-being-tossed