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Court Dismisses McKinney Case After Key Witness Fails to Appear; State Will Not Refile
Summary
Judge Stephanie Boyd signed a dismissal for the case against Raymond McKinney after the state's key witness did not appear for trial; the court swore jurors and then dismissed the case at the state's request not to refile.
Judge Stephanie Boyd signed a dismissal in the case against Raymond McKinney after the state's principal witness did not appear in court as scheduled.
The dismissal is consequential because it ended the day's jury trial schedule and the state told the court it did not intend to refile the case.
The court had called jurors and prepared for trial when the state informed the court that Officer Romero Ramos, a witness the state planned to call, had attended another event that morning and experienced a medical episode. The defense argued the officer’s absence warranted denial of a continuance and sought dismissal. Defense counsel asked the court to grant a mistrial and to dismiss the case.
Judge Boyd confirmed the jurors had been called and stated she would swear them in; after further argument and a short break for the defense counsel to present a written motion to dismiss, the court asked whether the state intended to refile. The state answered no, and Judge Boyd signed the dismissal.
The court discussed whether jurors should be informed about the officer’s absence; Judge Boyd said she would speak to jurors and allowed counsel to address them if they wished. The dismissal was entered and the court moved on to other docket items.
The record reflects the absence of the witness, the defense's request to dismiss, and the court's order signing the dismissal. The state represented on the record that it did not intend to refile.
