A defendant’s views were overturned, and a new test was ordered ordered after a judge in the attempted murder trial in a , Fulton County  failed to disclose her decades-old criminal conviction for cocaine hands.
Three judges of the Georgia Court of Appeals, which is investigating Darren Mills ‘ ask for a new trial in the legal case, unanimously approved, on Thursday. In addition to his previous beliefs, including attempted murder, armed robbery, and participating in criminal street gang action, Mills is currently serving a 30-year word at Calhoun State Prison.
One of the jurors in Mills ‘ 2017 trial, who was referred to in the ruling as” C. L. L.,” said nothing when the trial judge inquired whether prospective jurors had been found guilty of a felony and not had their rights restored. Georgia law usually forbids convicted criminals from appearing on juries.
The jury’s testimony at the post-trial receiving revealed that, in the end, the jury had not received a pardon for her crime. It demonstrates that the jury was first given a sentence under the First Offender Act of Georgia, which allows defendants to request that their conviction’s record be expunged. According to scenario records, the juror was still convicted because she had broken her parole by using cocaine.
Matthew Winchester, Mills ‘ attorney, stated on Friday that the decision was “undoubtedly happy.” We believe the outcome is appropriate.
Winchester stated that he will request Mills ‘ release from custody on relationship as soon as the event returns to the trial court. He claimed that the district attorney’s office for Fulton County and the Georgia Supreme Court has indicated that they will request assessment.
If the case is upheld, Quatez White’s two co-defendants, Dominique Carter, and Mills, will even be eligible for a new test, according to Winchester. In Mills ‘ charm, Carter and White were not involved.
The Fulton DA’s office staff did not respond to inquiries about the decision right away.
On Friday, the juror’s attempts to contact him were unsuccessful.
Winchester remarked of the court’s choice,” Nevertheless, I thought it was a clear-cut result that needed to be imposed.” The phrase” the legislation is unambiguous”
According to scenario documents, the judge admitted to possessing methamphetamine and was given a sentence under the First Offender Act in 1995, the time Mills was born. According to court documents, her second criminal position was revoked in 1997.
According to court documents, the violence in which Mills, Carter, and White are accused occurred in 2015 outside a home on Cooper Street in Atlanta.
Mills claimed in a new registration that the victim was a self-declared drug dealer who had been repeatedly robbed and shot. Winchester claimed that Mills claims that prosecutors falsely identified him as a suspect.
According to court documents, Mills, Carter, and White admitted no guilty to participating in a criminal street gang task in 2016 and to pled not guilty to the charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, armed robbery, hijacking a car, possession of a rifle, and fire. They each received a verdict of innocence on the firearms fee.
Mills, who received a 30-year jail sentence, claimed on charm that his attorney learned of the prosecutor’s conviction while conducting an investigation into some “incendiary statements” made by an alternate juror after the trial.
In June 2023; Fulton County Superior Court Judge Eric Dunaway denied Mills ‘ ask for a new trial, contending that the judge’s criminal conviction did not have an unfavorable effect on Mills. Dunaway claimed that the judge’s evidence suggested that during jury selection, she either did not understand or misinterpreted the question regarding felony convictions.
According to Dunaway,” ( Mills ) has not demonstrated that any juror misconduct occurred here or that he was harmed by any such conduct,” according to the order.
According to Fulton , the appellate judge was informed that Mills may have been favored by the judge because she had heard about crew members who engaged in good behavior, knew at least one person who socialized with or shared time with gang members, and had at least one friend or child who photographed with guns, money, and drugs.
The judge’s great-nephew had connections to gangs and had been found guilty and given prison sentences, according to prosecutors in a new filing.
The jury stated that the prosecution “believed that everyone deserves a second chance, that often you fall victim to the streets, that maybe you don’t have a option,” according to the prosecution. Mills failed to show the judge that she had purposefully concealed info about her status as a felon, and Mills failed to demonstrate any true bias against Mills.
The appellate courts claimed that the prosecution’s claims in the case had not convinced them.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2025.
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