Court Opinion

ID: 9884759
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 03:10:55.990268+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:40:55.285144
License: Public Domain

BARNES, Judge,
concurring.
I concur here because I believe that the introduction of the video was reversible error and not harmless. I acknowledge Judge Baker's stance that misidentification was the primary or even sole defense presented here and that the video is not directly relevant to that issue. The jury trial process, however, is supposed to be one which is fair to both the State and the defendant.
Although the ultimate question was decided by the jury, I am convinced that the video, which purported to show how weapons could be hidden under clothing, was the proverbial evidentiary harpoon that skewed the ability of the jury to fairly and impartially decide the case. The video potentially grouped Miller with a group of hypothetical "bad actors" who have special skill in hiding multiple weapons under their clothing. 'I am always reluctant to reverse jury verdicts, but I am never reluctant to attempt, as I view it, to ensure *200fairness. I do not think Miller got a fair shake here, and I vote with Judge May to reverse.