Guilty Verdict Reversed and New Trial Set in Attempted Murder Case
Background
In the State v. Miller, the wife of the defendant, Miller, was driving her car when the accelerator stuck and her car ran into a brick pillar and spun into the front window of a nail salon. The defendant’s ex-wife testified and accused him of threatening to fix her brakes so they wouldn’t work in her car. The prosecutor believed the husband fixed the accelerator of his current wife’s car and he was charged with attempted aggravated murder, attempted murder and felonious assault.
Approach & Resolution
On appeal, the defendant’s attorney, Gordon Friedman, argued that the “other acts” evidence by his client’s ex-wife should be inadmissible. In addition, he said testimony from a tow-truck driver who picked up the wife’s car after the crash should also be inadmissible as “expert” testimony.
In 2015, the lower court’s guilty judgement was reversed and the conviction vacated, and the defendant Miller’s case was remanded for a new trial.