Word: mistrial
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Connecticut Superior Court Judge Harold M. Mulvey yesterday declared a mistrial in the six-month proceedings against Black Panther leader Bobby Seale ending a 23-hour jury deadlock...
...Seattle trial began last November 23 and lasted eight days. On the ninth day, the defendants delayed their entrance into the courtroom by about 15 minutes. District Judge George E. Boldt responded by finding them all in contempt and declaring a mistrial: he said that the defendant's contempt had prejudiced the jury to the point that they could not receive a fair trial. He made the contempt and mistrial decisions summarily, with out holding hearings...
Thus assured of the wisdom of his action, Judge Boldt last week dealt with the "Seattle Seven"-the young protesters accused of conspiring to damage a federal courthouse in Seattle last winter. After declaring a mistrial in the Tacoma proceedings, Judge Boldt summarily convicted the seven of contempt, and ordered them to serve one or more six-month jail terms. Then he adamantly refused to grant bail to the defendants...
...when six of the defendants* refused to enter the courtroom because their partisans had been denied entry to the courthouse lobby, Tigar and the other defense lawyers stood by helplessly. Judge Boldt demanded that the defendants enter. When they balked, he declared a mistrial and cited them for "one of the most inexcusable and outrageous incidents of contempt of court that I have ever read about or learned...
Immediate Action. Equally upset, Tigar called the judge's ruling "a patently transparent attempt to deny defendants the rights vindicating their innocence." Some legal observers questioned the necessity of a mistrial. Boldt could have continued the trial with the defendants in custody or awaiting the start of their contempt sentences. It was never clear that the jury had been prejudiced by the defendants' absence from the courtroom. Some jurors even expressed disappointment that they had not been able to see the trial through...