Supreme Court of Georgia, 1858

Geiger v. State

Geiger v. State
Supreme Court of Georgia · Decided June 15, 1858 · McDonald
25 Ga. 667

Geiger v. State

Opinion of the Court

By the Court

McDonald, J.

delivering the opinion.

At each .Term of the Court at which the plaintiff in error demanded a trial, he was put on his trial, but the Court each time dismissed the jury, before the finding of a verdict, and ordered a mistrial. The record does not disclose any cause for ordering a mistrial at either Term of the Court. This Court has held that the Court may, ordinarily, at its discretion, direct a mistrial. A case in which the defendant has a statutory right to a trial, however, forms an exception. In that case the consent of the defendant must be had, or the mistrial must be the effect of inevitable accident; such as the death *669or sickness, df the Judge or one or more of the jury, &c., &c.

The provision of the statute was intended to secure to defendants a speedy trial, and confers on them a right whicii the Court can neither control nor withhold.

Judgment reversed.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.