MONROVIA, LIBERIA-Criminal Court ‘A’ Judge Roosevelt Willie has declared a mistrial in the arson case involving the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Fonati Koffa, and fourteen others at the Temple of Justice.

Mis-trial means the trial is terminated without a verdict, and that the entire panel jury has been disbanded and dismissed, and a new trial is required to start anew.

The court further said the statement by juryman J 30-9863 was biased when he insinuated that the photo of the witness looked like a Chinese, and what he saw was not of Thomas Etheridge, who had already formed a strong opinion on the presentation of Prosecution as the first witness, documentary evidence.

The statement, according to the Court, prevented him from acting with entire impartiality and with prejudice to the substantial rights of prosecution, noting other reasons for the disbandment, among others.

On the issue of inflammatory statements made by lawyers in the presence of the jurors, the court also answered in the affirmative, adding that some inflammatory statements were made by both prosecution and defense lawyers.

Earlier on, the Prosecution alleged that some of the jurors were seen in open court sharing information, communicating, and consulting each other before exchanging questions and notes, while engaging their first witness on the stand, thus terming the act of the jurors as prejudiced.

Meanwhile, the defense took an exception to the courts’ ruling and said it would be unjust and unfair to keep the defendants in prison and wants the defendants to be admitted to bail, because the abrupt termination of the trial means that a new trial will take place in the February Term or maybe later.