A Chesapeake judge is considering a mistrial motion in a murder case after a juror failed to disclose her history as a crime victim.
James Boughton Jr. was previously found guilty for shooting a Mormon missionary to death. This past Friday, defense attorney Andrew Sacks told Chesapeake Circuit Judge Randy Smith that a woman known as juror No. 26 had withheld information about her involvement in a domestic dispute.
According to The Virginian-Pilot, Sacks said he would have excluded the juror had he known her background. He also argued that the juror’s complaints about defense questioning revealed a bias that affected other jurors.
Judge Smith will rule later on whether the juror’s testimony tainted the trial. Boughton’s Aug. 3 sentencing has been postponed.
