Opinion ID: 1935283
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Denial of motion for a mistrial and severance

Text: At the start of the trial, the presiding Justice ordered sequestration of the witnesses at the request of both the prosecution and the defense. After the trial had reached beyond the two-thirds mark, counsel for the Powers brothers brought to the attention of the presiding Justice notice that the attorney of codefendant, Galen Thompson, had, so it was claimed, briefed a prospective witness on prior testimony in violation of the sequestration order. After a voir-dire into the alleged incident, the Justice stated he would refer the matter to the proper authorities for possible disciplinary action. It is at this point that counsel for Benjamin and Lawrence Powers moved for a mistrial and severance of their trial from that of Galen Thompson, their codefendant. He advanced the argument that, as a result of the proffered accusations, codefendant's attorney would be antagonistic to the Powers brothers as well as to himself and his clients would not get the fair trial to which they were entitled. Thompson's attorney assured the trial Justice, however, that he harbored no animosity toward the defendants or their counsel. The denial of the motion did not constitute error. The granting of a mistrial lies within the discretionary powers of a presiding justice and, absent a clear abuse of that discretion, the Law Court has no right to substitute its judgment for that of the trial court who has a distinct advantage in assessing the merits of the motion as a result of his immediate overview of the trial. State v. Upton, Me., 362 A.2d 738 (1976); State v. Gaddis, Me., 322 A.2d 96 (1974); State v. Kelley, Me., 357 A.2d 890 (1976). The same rule applies respecting the ultimate relief sought in this case such as separate trials for codefendants. State v. Niemszyk, Me., 303 A.2d 105 (1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1042, 94 S.Ct. 544, 38 L.Ed.2d 333; State v. Coty, Me., 229 A.2d 205, 33 A.L.R.3d 1 (1967); State v. Bobb, 138 Me. 242, 25 A.2d 229 (1942). Our review of the record reveals no apparent prejudice whatsoever to the defendants from the reference incident. Hence, there was no abuse of discretion in the court's decision for the joint trial to continue.