Question: When should a civil trial judge grant a mistrial?
Answer: Only when less severe remedies will not satisfactorily correct an error. A mistrial is an extreme remedy that is warranted only when less severe remedies will not satisfactorily correct the error. The Court of Appeals give great deference to a trial judge’s discretion in determining whether to grant a mistrial because the judge is in the best position to gauge the surrounding circumstances of an event and its impact on the jury. When determining whether a mistrial is warranted, we consider whether a party has been placed in a position of grave peril to which they should not have been subjected. The gravity of the peril is determined by the probable persuasive effect on the jury’s decision. A timely and accurate admonition is presumed to cure any error in the admission of evidence, so reversible error will seldom be found if the trial court has admonished the jury to disregard a statement made during the proceedings. Further, an instruction to disregard is presumed to cure error except in extreme circumstances where the evidence is clearly calculated to inflame the minds of the jury and is of such a character as to suggest the impossibility of withdrawing the impression produced on their minds. Finally, when a jury is admonished by a trial court to disregard what has occurred at trial, the court’s refusal to grant a mistrial is not ordinarily reversible error.
