PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Maine’s supreme court says jurors who convicted a man of resisting arrest and assault should have been allowed to see cellphone video taken by the defendant’s sister.
A police officer arrested Abdiaziz Hussein, of Lewiston, after he allegedly refused to sign a criminal summons, tried to run and punched the officer. The video showed Hussein with a pen in his hand, signaling a possible willingness to sign, while pinned on the floor.
In a 6-1 decision, the Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday ordered a new trial, saying the judge made a mistake in declining to allow the video to be shown to jurors.
People were interested in these podcasts
Dissenting Justice Donald Alexander said the trial judge didn’t err and that if he did then it was a “harmless” error.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.