Background
Deandre Johnson went to a Department of Child Services building to confront an employee who had interviewed Johnson’s daughter. At a follow-up meeting four days later, Johnson placed the employee in a chokehold from behind, released him after more than a minute, then resumed choking him after dropping him to the floor. Johnson had livestreamed the encounter.
Police later located Johnson and pursued his vehicle after activating lights and sirens. A jury acquitted Johnson of aggravated assault but convicted him of attempted first-degree murder, unlawful flight from a law-enforcement vehicle, and four disorderly-conduct counts. The superior court imposed a maximum 16-year term for attempted murder and a consecutive 1.5-year presumptive term for unlawful flight.
The Court’s Holding
The Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed. Johnson did not object when the victim, responding to defense questions about whether he needed emergency surgery, used a racial slur to describe Johnson. The court therefore reviewed only for fundamental error.
The court held that Johnson failed to show error, much less fundamental error. The remark was an isolated statement in a seven-day trial, and Johnson did not explain why it was likely to have improperly influenced the jury under the circumstances. His proposed per se mistrial rule for any witness use of a racial slur conflicted with precedent requiring a context-specific assessment of whether improper testimony actually affected the trial’s outcome.
Key Takeaways
- A defendant who does not seek to strike testimony, request a limiting instruction, or move for a mistrial generally forfeits the issue absent fundamental error.
- An isolated racial slur by a witness does not automatically require a mistrial.
- Whether improper testimony warrants a mistrial depends on its context and probable effect on the jury.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores the importance of contemporaneous trial objections and targeted requests for relief. On appeal, generalized assertions that inflammatory testimony could affect jurors will not satisfy the defendant’s burden under fundamental-error review without a case-specific showing of error and likely impact.