State of Tennessee v. Ricky Thompson, E2015-02464-CCA-R3-CD

Defendant Ricky Thompson was tried for aggravated assault and aggravated robbery after a May 31, 2014 altercation in which the victim sustained severe facial fractures requiring two surgeries and a lengthy hospital stay.
At voir dire a veniremember (Mr. Miller) compared the criminal-justice system unfavorably and referenced the high-profile Christian-Newsom case, stated the defendant appeared guilty, and was excused for cause; Thompson moved for a mistrial.
At trial the victim testified he was attacked in his apartment after giving Thompson beer/weed; he was intoxicated and later required extensive facial surgery.
Medical records and testimony from Dr. Jack Gotcher described the fractures and surgeries; the trial court admitted graphic intraoperative photographs over Thompson’s objection.
Jury convicted Thompson of reckless aggravated assault (lesser included of aggravated assault) and acquitted him of aggravated robbery; Thompson received a 12-year career-offender sentence and appealed, arguing (1) voir dire comments required a mistrial and (2) surgical photos were improperly admitted.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Thompson)	Held
Whether voir dire comments by a prospective juror required a mistrial	Trial court properly exercised discretion; juror excused and court gave curative instruction	Comments invoked notorious local case and judicial-system criticism, contaminating venire and undermining fairness	Court affirmed: no abuse of discretion; no proof remaining jurors were prejudiced and jurors presumed to follow instructions
Whether intraoperative photographic evidence was admissible	Photos were relevant to show extent of serious bodily injury and to rebut self-defense claims	Photos were gruesome, of limited probative value, and unfairly prejudicial (Rule 403)	Court held admission was error but harmless beyond a reasonable doubt for non-constitutional error

State v. Smith, 871 S.W.2d 667 (Tenn. 1994) (mistrial standard rests in trial court’s discretion)
State v. Brown, 53 S.W.3d 264 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2000) (review of trial court’s mistrial decision)
State v. Banks, 271 S.W.3d 90 (Tenn. 2008) (presumption that jurors follow curative instructions)
State v. Banks, 564 S.W.2d 947 (Tenn. 1978) (guidance on admissibility of gruesome photographs)
State v. Collins, 986 S.W.2d 13 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1998) (medical testimony may make graphic photos unnecessary)
State v. Carruthers, 35 S.W.3d 516 (Tenn. 2000) (photograph admissibility does not depend on defendant’s willingness to stipulate)