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New trial after jury met in room with Confederate symbols

gavel. (WKMG)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ā€“ A Tennessee appeals court has granted a new trial for a Black man who was convicted of aggravated assault by an all-white jury that deliberated in a room containing Confederate symbols.

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Friday that Tim Gilbert deserves a new trial on charges stemming from a December 2018 altercation, The Tennessean reported.

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Gilbert was sentenced to six years in prison after his conviction on charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and resisting arrest.

His attorney appealed, arguing that Gilbert's right to a fair trial was violated because the jury deliberated in a room adorned with an antique Confederate flag and a portrait of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

The appeal courtā€™s ruling came after a circuit court judge denied Gilbertā€™s motion for a new trial.

The appeals court ruling said that allowing the jury to decide whether Gilbert was innocent or guilty in a room at the Giles County Courthouse maintained by the United Daughters of the Confederacy ā€œexposed the jury to extraneous prejudicial information and violated his constitutional rights to a fair trial conducted by an impartial jury.ā€

The trial court also made a mistake by allowing a challenged witness statement, an error that ā€œcannot be classified as harmless,ā€ the appeals court said.


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