Georgia Court of Appeals on Swearing the Jury...

Yesterday, the Georgia Court of Appeals issued just one opinion, in the case of Benton v. State, 2007 WL 1965665. The defendant claimed his conviction (at trial by a jury) must be reversed because the jury was not sworn. Indeed, the record did not affirmatively reflect that the jury was sworn. But, not so fast, says the court -- the presumption is that the judge discharged all his duties, including the swearing of the jury. Accordingly, the defendant must affirmatively show (via an evidentiary hearing in the trial court) that it is not merely a case of the court reporter failing to record the swearing of the jury, but that the judge actually failed to perform his duty. The conviction was affirmed.