Lawyer calls for mistrial at conclusion of P.A. murder trial
At the murder trial of two Prince Albert men, one of the defence lawyers applied for a mistrial based on a reference to David Milgaard made by the other defence council during her closing statement.
Jordan Herron, 23, and Orren Johnson, 28, are charged with first-degree murder for their alleged involvement in the April, 2014 shooting death of 17-year-old Clayton James Bear. Their trial has been ongoing at Prince Albert’s Court of Queen’s Bench since Jan. 23.
Mary McAuley, who represents Jordan Herron, called for a mistrial this morning based on the closing statement of Lisa Trach, who represents Johnson. In her closing argument Monday, Trach used the famous wrongful conviction and exoneration of David Milgaard’s murder case as an example to warn the jury of the dangers of a potential wrongful conviction.
“It’s okay to make a passing reference [to the potential of a wrongful conviction],” McAuley said. “Referring to specific cases, drawing parallels, is not.”