<font color="#009900">COURTS:</font> Juror fell asleep, inmate claims on appeal

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August 25, 2009

Attempted murderer asks for new trial

By Carnell Hawthorne Jr., Reporter The Suwannee Democrat Tue Aug 25, 2009, 09:52 AM EDT

An O'Brien man convicted of attempted second-degree murder has filed an appeal, claiming that one of the jurors fell asleep during his trial, according to court documents.

Michael Arthur Boyington was convicted in May 2008 of the 2006 shooting of Arpad Laszlo Balint of Live Oak. Balint, shot in the stomach, was hospitalized in serious condition but later recovered.

On Thursday, Boyington's attorneys, Duke Fagan and Terry D. Bork, offered signed affidavits in court of "at least two witnesses" who support the claim that a juror fell asleep during Boyington's trial.

According to a legal brief filed by his attorneys, Boyington is "entitled ... to a new trial because the rule is that a new trial must be granted if any jury is guilty of any misconduct that results in prejudice to the substantial rights of a defendant."

Boyington, 62, is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence and is not scheduled for release until 2041.

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