Mistrial rejected in Victor Hill case

Attorneys for a man suing Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill for false arrest asked for a mistrial Wednesday after Hill blurted out information from the witness stand that he had been told not to disclose to the jury.

U.S. District Court Judge Orinda Evans denied attorney Bill Atkins’ motion for a mistrial but agreed with his assessment that Hill made the statement deliberately to inflame and prejudice the jury in his favor.

“I do think he was trying to slip one in,” Evans said.

Mark Tuggle is suing Hill over a January 2005 arrest for harassing telephone calls because the case against him was dismissed seven months later. Part of his suit alleges humiliation and mental anguish over being locked up for 30 hours and having his mug shot broadcast by Atlanta TV stations.

Tuggle had been arrested once before, in 1996 for allegedly fighting with another man. That case was dropped when officials determined Tuggle acted in self-defense or in defense of others.

Evans told both sides she had not yet decided whether to let the jury know about the previous arrest when Hill blurted out that fact Wednesday morning from the stand.

In the July 2004 election, Hill defeated Tuggle’s brother, Stanley Tuggle, who had served two terms as Clayton sheriff.

Taking the stand after Hill, Mark Tuggle admitted that on Jan. 3, 2005, he phoned the Sheriff’s Office twice after seeing news coverage of 27 deputies fired by Hill on his first day in office. He called Hill a “short little [expletive]” and “lowdown scum,” according to testimony.

“I was just angry,” Tuggle said.

Tuggle choked up emotionally when recalling his arrest and confinement. He described being ordered to strip naked and having jailers smirk at him before he was given a jumpsuit and told to dress.

Under cross-examination by Hill’s attorney, James Dearing, Tuggle denied he was angry because Hill won the election.

After Tuggle testified, Atkins rested his case. Dearing said he may call one witness Thursday morning. Evans told the jury she expected them to begin deliberating by the afternoon.

Outside court, Dearing declined to comment on the case until after the trial is over.