Judge in Cleveland declares mistrial in murder trial of Simone Biles' brother after jury mistakenly

Judge in Cleveland declares mistrial in murder trial of Simone Biles’ brother after jury mistakenly gets legal briefs


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A judge on Monday declared a mistrial during the third day of jury deliberations in the case of a U.S. Army soldier charged with murder in a 2018 New Year’s Eve party shooting that left three men dead.

Jurors on Monday told Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Joan Synenberg that copies of legal briefs from prosecutors and Tevin Biles-Thomas’ attorneys somehow ended up among the trial evidence the court gave the jury to consult during its deliberations.

The briefs included a debate between prosecutors and defense attorneys over whether Biles-Thomas might have acted in self-defense.

The legal paperwork included a request from Biles-Thomas’ attorney, Joe Patituce, for Synenberg to instruct the jury on self-defense and tell them that they could find that Biles-Thomas committed the shooting but was acting in defense of his cousin. Synenberg denied the motion, and Patituce told jurors during closing arguments last week that Biles-Thomas did not have a gun at the party.

Read more: https://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/2021/05/judge-in-cleveland-declares-mistrial-in-murder-trial-of-simone-biles-brother-after-jury-mistakenly-gets-legal-briefs.html