Opinion ID: 1750922
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Trial Court Erred In Refusing To Grant A Mistrial After Appellant Was Seen By Jury Panel In Handcuffs.

Text: Following a lunch break defense counsel asked for a hearing in chambers. He told the court Meny was in the hall with handcuffs on and that all of the jurors coming into the courtroom had seen him. The trial judge expressed his regrets and gave instructions to court officers to avoid any recurrence of such an incident. Counsel made no further offer of proof of what the jurors saw and did not request a hearing for such purpose. We stated in Hill v. State, 285 Ark. 77, 685 S.W.2d 495 (1985) that where there has been only a brief, inadvertent encounter between potential jurors and a defendant in restraints, prejudice will not be presumed. In the case before us Meny offered no proof that the encounter was anything but inadvertent and momentary and no prejudice occurred.