Sherrod

A jury found Albert Dennis Sherrod guilty of attempted premeditated murder; assault with a deadly weapon by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury; and corporal injury to a spouse and/or roommate. However, the trial court ordered a new trial, concluding it had erred in refusing to continue the original trial and that as a result, Sherrod was denied a fair trial.

The People appeal the order for new trial contending (1) the supervising judge correctly denied Sherrod’s motion to continue the trial; (2) the trial judge correctly refused to continue the trial in deference to the supervising judge’s earlier ruling; (3) Sherrod was not entitled to a continuance in order to obtain advisory counsel; and (4) Sherrod failed to show, and the court failed to find, that it was reasonably probable that a result more favorable to him would have been reached if a continuance had been granted, and thus, there was no miscarriage of justice requiring reversal.

The People’s contentions are unavailing. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering a new trial. Moreover, the denial of a fair trial in itself results in a miscarriage of justice, without the defendant…