A juror in a Fulton County attempted murder trial failed to disclose her decades-old felony conviction for cocaine possession, prompting a defendant’s convictions to be wiped out and a new trial granted.
In a unanimous ruling published Thursday, three judges of the Georgia Court of Appeals granted Darren Mills’ request for a new trial in the criminal case accusing him of attempting to kill a drug dealer during an armed robbery in Atlanta. Mills is serving a 30-year sentence in Calhoun State Prison on several convictions including attempted murder, armed robbery and participation in criminal street gang activity.
The judges said one of the jurors in Mills’ 2017 trial, referred to in the ruling as “C.L.L.,” said nothing when the trial judge asked prospective jurors if they had been convicted of a felony and not had their rights restored. Georgia law generally prohibits convicted felons from serving on juries…