Sloan v. State, 318 Ga. App. 51

Sloan was convicted in May 2000 of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, battery, three counts of cruelty to children, and four counts of false imprisonment, and was sentenced as a recidivist to 84 years.
A motion for new trial was filed in June 2000 but denied only in May 2011, a prolonged delay the court notes as troubling.
On appeal Sloan challenged the trial court's denial of his motion for a mistrial based on a child witness's testimony that suggested his character.
The trial court ruled it could not determine whether the jury heard the improper testimony, then gave a curative instruction directing the jury to disregard
The appellate court held the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the mistrial request, as it promptly ruled, excluded the testimony, and instructed the jury to disregard it.
Judgment affirming Sloan’s conviction was entered.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether denial of mistrial was reversible error	Sloan	Sloan	No; not an abuse of discretion

Shank v. State, 290 Ga. 844 (Ga. 2012) (duty to avoid inordinate delay in post-conviction motions and ensure timely rulings)
Stanley v. State, 250 Ga. 3 (Ga. 1982) (trial court discretion in mistrial decisions; curative instructions may suffice)
Ottis v. State, 271 Ga. 200 (Ga. 1999) (mistrial standard when prejudicial testimony occurs and corrective measures are available)