Alex N. Gecan

@GeeksterTweets

TRENTON – Allegations of a dozy juror were not enough to throw out an assault conviction, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Monday.

Khalid Mohammed, of Asbury Park, had already taken his conviction for a 2010 assault, for which he paid a $500 fine and was released with time served, through a state appeals court, which ruled that Juror 14’s supposed napping was not grounds to throw out the 2013 verdict.

On Monday the state Supreme Court upheld the appellate ruling.

Both a prosecutor and a defense attorney said they had seen the juror snoozing during the trial. The Supreme Court opinion read that the first alleged nap had taken place during an “inconsequential” portion of the trial – pretrial instructions. The next time was when the judge was giving final instructions for deliberations.

The trial judge, Ronald Reisner, determined that the juror had “been having his eyes closed on and off throughout the trial … he goes in and out but seems to be paying attention,” according to court records.

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The Supreme Court agreed unanimously with the appellate decision that Mohammed had not been subjected to a defective jury, but wrote that trial judges are responsible for investigating possible inattentive jurors.

Asbury Park police arrested Mohammed in August 2010 after he tried to prevent them from arresting his brother’s fiancée, according to court records. Officer Fil James Lau testified that Mohammed pushed and punched Lao, though other witnesses contradicted that account.

The jury let Mohammed off on one charge of aggravated assault but found him guilty of simple assault and resisting arrest, fining him $500.

Alex N. Gecan: 732-643-4043; agecan@gannettnj.com