Maples v. State, 758 So.2d 1 (Ala. Crim. App. 1999)

Cases | Maples v. State, 758 So.2d 1 (Ala. Crim. App. 1999) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of two counts of capital murder. On appeal, the defendant claimed that the prosecutor improperly introduced the victim’s family member to the voir dire panels and allowed him to sit at the counsel table during trial. The appellate court held that the victim’s family has a right to be present at trial and to sit at the counsel table pursuant to Ala. Code § 15-14-56. Further, the prosecutor’s acknowledgment of the victim’s family member did not unduly influence the jury. The acknowledgment was designed to determine whether prospective jurors knew the family member and would therefore be incapable of rendering an impartial verdict.