Conditions for Mistrial In Arkansas

A mistrial is a drastic remedy to be resorted to only where any possible prejudice cannot be removed by admonishing the jury or some other curative relief. Bullock v. State, 317 Ark. 204, 876 S.W.2d 579 (1994). As we said in Cagle v. State, 68 Ark. App. 248, 250, 6 S.W.3d 801 (1999), the fact that there was no direct reference to the defendant's silence tends to show the absence of prejudice, and an admonition is the proper remedy where the assertion of prejudice is highly speculative. Finally, the comment regarding appellant's flight was not improper because only comments on a defendant's post-arrest, post-Miranda silence are prohibited by Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U.S. 610, 49 L. Ed. 2d 91, 96 S. Ct. 2240 (1976). Cagle v. State, 68 Ark. App. at 250.