Jackson v. State, 429 S.W.3d 176

Jackson was convicted of capital murder, criminal attempt to commit capital murder, and aggravated robbery with a firearm enhancement; sentenced to life without parole.
On November 13, 2007, in North Little Rock, Jackson, Madden, and Coleman forced entry into Rogers’s home, demanded money, and restrained Rogers and Bisbee.
Bisbee was stabbed, throat cut, and shot; Rogers was also shot but survived; Coleman testified for the State about the incident.
Defense sought impeachment with Coleman’s juvenile adjudication; and argued gun-possession charge (not a conviction) was relevant to credibility.
During trial, the State asked a question about a witness visit prior to court; court admonished jury but did not grant mistrial.
A pretrial issue involved marijuana-like substances found at the scene; the court limited questioning and ultimately excluded the evidence as not probative.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Mistrial for prejudicial testimony	Prosecutor’s question implied witness intimidation by Jackson’s family.	Mistrial required because prejudice could not be cured by admonition.	No abuse; admonition cured; mistrial not warranted.
Impeachment with gun-possession charge	Gun charge shows Coleman’s credibility; probative of truthfulness.	Gun charge not a conviction; not relevant for credibility under Rule 608/609.	No error; charge not admissible; not probative of credibility.
Marijuana evidence at the scene	Marijuana presence could contextualize the crime and victim behavior.	Not relevant; any context did not affect guilt.	No reversible error; evidence not relevant under Rule 402; properly excluded.

Williams v. State, 2010 Ark. 89 (Ark. 2010) (prejudicial testimony may require mistrial where cannot be cured)
Moore v. State, 323 Ark. 529 (Ark. 1996) (inflammatory statements require mistrial if prejudicial)
Lackey v. State, 283 Ark. 150 (Ark. 1984) (admonition to disregard testimony may be insufficient)
Wingfield v. State, 303 Ark. 291 (Ark. 1990) (police reference to polygraph was prejudicial error)
Green v. State, 365 Ark. 478 (Ark. 2006) (prejudice too great for admonition to cure)
Puckett v. State, 324 Ark. 81 (Ark. 1996) (mistrial only if prejudice cannot be removed by admonition)
Richmond v. State, 302 Ark. 498 (Ark. 1990) (cross-examination limits on unrelated arrests)
Watkins v. State, 320 Ark. 163 (Ark. 1995) (cross-examining on past theft not allowed absent relevant conviction)
Ellison v. State, 354 Ark. 340 (Ark. 2003) (preclusion of impeachment for unconvicted conduct upheld)
Bailey v. State, 334 Ark. 43 (Ark. 1998) (three-part test for Rule 608 admissibility)
Thomas v. State, 273 Ark. 50 (Ark. 1981) (circumstances may show context for crime when non-element conduct is inseparable)