ROME, GA —The long-running legal battle being fought by comic book retailer Gordon Lee just got longer with the judge in the case declaring a mistrial due to statements made by state prosecutor John Tully during opening arguments yesterday.Comic book retailer Gordon Lee is standing trial for two misdemeanor counts of distributing harmful material to minors and faces penalties of up to a year in prison and $1,000 in fines for each count if convicted. His trial started this week, after the case’s last delay in August due to a judge’s illness. Lee’s day in court comes after nearly three years of legal proceedings arising from the Halloween 2004 distribution of Alternative Comics #2, a Free Comic Book Day sampler that featured an excerpt from the critically acclaimed graphic novel The Salon that depicted Pablo Picasso in the nude and was accidentally handed to a minor.
Lee and his legal team, paid for by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, appeared in court yesterday for jury selection and returned in the afternoon to begin the actual trial. Before the jury was brought in to begin the trial, lead counsel Alan Begner argued an oral motion in limine asking the judge to instruct prosecutors that they could not admit statements from their witnesses alluding to Lee’s character and any previous legal actions Lee has been party to. Prosecutors told the court that they had instructed their witnesses not to address Lee’s previous conviction for selling adult comics to an adult. Then, during opening statements in front of the jury, prosecutor Tully said witnesses will testify that Gordon was defensive and that Gordon had told police, “I’ve been through this before,” a clear reversal of his earlier statement to the judge that prosecutors would not be entering such statements into the record.
When Tully made his statement, defense counsel stared at each other in disbelief before Begner leapt up to demand a mistrial. Judge Larry Salmon put his head in his hands and called a 15 minute recess. After that 15 minute break, the judge declared the mistrial.
“This is a victory, but we wish it was over,” CBLDF lead counsel Alan Begner said in a statement. “We believe that prosecutors induced this mistrial on purpose, because we had a jury that looked more defense oriented. We’re prepared to quickly file a motion to argue that no new trial should be scheduled because this mistrial was intentional and constitutes prosecutorial misconduct.”
“Never in the Fund’s history have we seen prosecutorial conduct of this nature,” said CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein. “We’re dumbfounded by prosecutors assuring the court that they weren’t going to do something, and then doing exactly that thing five minutes later. Every step of the way they have been adding further expense to Lee’s defense, first by changing their facts, then by entering new indictment after new indictment, and today by contaminating the jury. Nobody, especially a small retailer, can bear this kind of expense on their own. Today’s action is clear evidence of why the Fund needs to be around to protect comics.”
The case could see trial again next year but Lee’s lawyers are not certain of that.
To offer support for Lee’s defense, visit CBLDF.org. The CBLDF has spent over $100,000 to date to help Lee with his defense.
To support the efforts of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund as it goes to trial to defend Georgia retailer Gordon Lee, comic retailer DynamicForces.com will donate 10-percent of all internet sales from all orders placed between November 1st and 14th, 2007.
