Clark County Superior Court Judge Barbara Johnson decided Tuesday to nullify the trial of Christopher Warren, who was recently found guilty of child rape. She determined that there was a mistrial after reviewing information about juror misconduct.
Twelve jurors reached a unanimous verdict on Oct. 31. But Craig Bowen, who was Juror No. 6, said under oath in November that he had accidentally read media reports, which influenced his vote and violated court orders.
“This result is highly unfortunate,” Johnson said. “The conduct of Mr. Bowen has resulted in substantial interference with the administration of justice, keeping in mind the trial time, including that of all of the other jurors, trial preparation, the testimony of numerous witnesses, including a young child.”
Less than 12 hours after the verdict, Bowen told the court and The Columbian that his fellow jurors may have had outside knowledge about the case before reaching a verdict. According to court transcripts, Bowen admitted days later to glancing at a newspaper story, where he believed he read that Warren was accused of molesting another victim. The information didn’t make sense to him, so he later sought clarification on The Columbian’s website and saw a headline indicating that Warren was a police officer, but — seeing his mistake in seeking a media report — he stopped reading.
