Opinion ID: 2548037
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: In April 2010, Jermane Clark was convicted of first degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the death of Morris Thompson. The prosecution's case against Clark depended principally on the testimony of two witnesses. First, Glenn Shelby claimed to have given the murder weapon to Clark. Second, Maurice Payne claimed to have been an eyewitness to the murder. Previously, Payne had pleaded guilty to unrelated charges before the same judge who presided over Clark's murder trial. Payne's decision to testify in Clark's case was not motivated by a plea agreement in his own case, and it was unlikely that his decision to testify against Clark would affect Payne's sentence favorably. Payne admitted that he subjectively hoped that his testimony against Clark would affect his sentence favorably, however. Clark's attorney was not permitted to question Payne concerning this potential bias. The judgment of the circuit court is reversed and the case is remanded.