Opinion ID: 1700705
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Denial of Appellant's Motion for Mistrial Based on Statement by Victim's Sister, who had been Summoned to Serve on Special Venire.

Text: After members of the special venire had been assembled in the courtroom, a juror (Mrs. Wiley Boland) stated to the court, Judge, the murdered man is my brother. The trial judge promptly excused the juror. When the defendant had completed his voir dire examination, he moved the court for a mistrial or to quash the venire on the ground that the venire could have been tainted by such comment. The court, the district attorney and appellant's attorney conducted voir dire examinations of prospective jurors and all members of the panel, who were retained, stated that they could and would be fair and impartial in the trial of the case. The record reflects that the court, the State and the appellant made reference to the term murder and instructions incorporated therein the word murder. Appellant consumed forty-one (41) pages of the record in examining the prospective jurors on voir dire and there is nothing in the record to indicate that any member of the panel or the jury was tainted by the juror's remark. There is no merit in this assignment. Dalton v. Madison, 216 Miss. 35, 61 So.2d 688 (1952).