State v. Cook

Summary

The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine affirmed Christopher Michael Cook’s robbery conviction. It held that the trial court did not clearly err in finding the jury impartial after jurors expressed concern that the defendant’s girlfriend might have photographed them, and that no obvious error occurred regarding possible juror distraction from bad weather.

Holdings

1. The trial court did not clearly err in finding that the jury remained impartial and did not abuse its discretion in denying Cook's motion for a mistrial.
2. The trial court did not commit obvious error in determining that the weather did not impair the jury's ability to deliberate.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court erred by proceeding with the trial and allowing deliberations after a storm and related power outages allegedly distracted the jurors.
2. Whether the trial court erred in denying Cook's motion for a mistrial after jurors expressed concern that Cook's girlfriend might have photographed them as they left the courthouse.

Disposition

affirmed