Background
Brandon Hughes pleaded guilty to negligent homicide arising from a February 2024 head-on collision in Garland County that killed Timothy Bratton. At the jury sentencing proceeding, the State presented evidence that Hughes crossed the centerline, had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.232, and had cocaine metabolites in his system.
The jury sentenced Hughes as a habitual offender to forty years’ imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. After the State rested, Juror No. 7 disclosed that he recognized victim-impact witness Kaye Bratton from their past employment at CHI St. Vincent Hospital. The juror said he had not discussed the case with her and could remain fair and impartial. When the circuit court invited motions concerning the juror, both sides declined.
The Court’s Holding
The Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed. Hughes did not preserve his challenge to Juror No. 7 because his counsel made no contemporaneous objection and obtained no ruling after the court expressly asked whether either side sought action regarding the juror.
The court also rejected Hughes’s reliance on the third exception in Wicks v. State, which can require a trial court to intervene without an objection in the face of a flagrant and highly prejudicial error. That narrow exception did not apply to the unobjected-to claim of juror bias or misconduct. The court therefore did not reach Hughes’s remaining arguments for removing the juror.
Key Takeaways
- A party must contemporaneously object to preserve a juror challenge for appeal.
- Declining to object after the trial court specifically invites a motion leaves the issue unpreserved.
- The third Wicks exception does not excuse the lack of an objection to this asserted juror-bias issue.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores that jury-related concerns must be raised when they arise, even during sentencing after a guilty plea. A later appellate claim cannot substitute for a requested ruling in the circuit court.