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State v. Hernandez

A jury found the appellee guilty of murder and aggravated assault. The court granted a motion for new trial based on juror bias arising from an in-court altercation between the appellee and a witness. The determination of whether bias rises to the level of disabling a juror is left to the discretion of the trial court. The trial court may not grant a motion for new trial based on the determination that it is without that discretion. The trial court's order is reversed and remanded. Austin Court of Appeals, No. 03-11-00013-CR, 12-23-2011.

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OPINION

This is an appeal from a trial court order granting appellee Daniel Joe Hernandez’s motion for new trial based on juror bias arising from an in-court altercation between Hernandez and a witness. The jury found Hernandez guilty of murder and aggravated assault. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. §§ 19.02, 22.02 (West 2011). The court granted the motion for new trial after sentencing Hernandez to thirty-five years and fifteen years for the convictions, respectively. On appeal, the State argues that the trial court erred in granting the new trial because it incorrectly concluded that a sitting juror must be removed when the juror expresses bias against the defendant. Because we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in granting the motion for new trial based on an incorrect legal standard, and the trial court’s findings do not support any other valid grounds for granting a new trial, we reverse the trial court’s order and remand this case for further proceedings.

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