State v. Boyd, 207 N.C. App. 632 (Nov. 2, 2010)

The trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying a defense motion to dismiss a juror, made after the juror sent a letter to the trial judge requesting to see a DVD that had been played the previous day in court and stating that she thought the defendant’s accent was fabricated. Despite being presented with only a suspicion of potential misconduct, the court made inquiry and determined that the juror had not made up her mind as to guilt or innocence and that she was willing to listen to the remainder of the evidence before considering guilt or innocence. The juror did not indicate that she was unable to accept a particular defense or penalty or abide by the presumption of innocence. Nothing suggested that the juror had spoken with other jurors about her thoughts, shared the note with anyone, or participated in any kind of misconduct. Given the trial court’s examination, it was not required to allow the defense to examine the juror.