Opinion ID: 2452276
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Motion for mistrialprior bad acts

Text: Griffin's next allegation of error is that the trial court should have granted his motion for mistrial after a State's witness, Crittenden County Officer R.W. Brockwell, read into evidence Griffin's June 15, 1993 handwritten in-custodial statement, which included the following sentence, I left work with the money and went to Lincoln Homes to buy crack cocaine, Tuesday, 5/25/93. A mistrial is an extreme remedy that should only be granted when justice cannot be served by continuing the trial. Richmond v. State, 320 Ark. 566, 899 S.W.2d 64 (1995). We will not reverse a trial court's decision to deny a motion for mistrial except for an abuse of discretion or manifest prejudice to the complaining party. Brown v. State, 320 Ark. 201, 895 S.W.2d 909 (1995). Prior to opening statements, the trial court ruled, at Griffin's request, that the State's witnesses testifying about the circumstances of Griffin's in-custodial statements were not to mention the specific criminal charges pending against Griffin in Tennessee. However, Griffin made no specific objection to the allusion to crack cocaine purchase in his in-custodial statement until it was read at trial. The trial court denied the motion for mistrial, ruling that it was untimely. However, the court offered both to caution the jury to disregard the reference to cocaine use, and to allow counsel to mark out the reference in the statement. While Griffin accepted the trial court's offer, no such cautionary instruction was given to the jury. It was Griffin's duty, as the moving party, to see that the trial court gave the cautionary instruction. Logan v. State, 299 Ark. 255, 773 S.W.2d 419 (1989). It is also significant that Griffin suffered no prejudice by the reference to his crack cocaine purchase. During Griffin's case-in-chief, he testified on direct examination that, on the day he was arrested, he had visited a dope house and had smoked crack cocaine. We have said many times that evidence that is merely cumulative of other evidence admitted without objection is not prejudicial. Landrum v. State, 320 Ark. 81, 894 S.W.2d 933 (1995). Under these circumstances, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for mistrial.