A mistrial has been declared in the trial of a doctor accused of sexually assaulting a female patient.
Exactly a week after a jury of six was selected to sit in the trial for Dr. Ugochukwu Akoma, who stands accused of two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct as misdemeanors, Superior Court of Guam Judge Alberto Tolentino declared a mistrial Monday morning.
The request for a mistrial was made and argued by Akoma's attorney Joaquin “Jay” Arriola Jr. after much of the morning was spent by Arriola and Assistant Attorney General Randall Albright arguing about whether certain pieces of evidence could be presented to the jury. Some arguments also consisted of attorneys asking Tolentino to reconsider past decisions made about the evidence.
Following the extensive arguments, Tolentino heard arguments on the mistrial motion, which Arriola's basis for related to the issues with evidence that had taken up and even prolonged the trial.
Arriola referred to the fact Akoma's accuser had started her testimony but needed to be interrupted when Albright tried to introduce a recording without authenticating it first. The result was several Guam Police Department officers being called in to testify about how they handled a recording they received from the accuser.
Some of GPD personnel's testimony, however, was ordered by Tolentino to be struck from the record and not considered by the jury.
“This is a classic case of whether a cautionary instruction can unring the bell. … Everything cumulatively that occurred so far in this case, … the presentation of the evidence, the breaking up of witnesses, is causing a great deal of issues,” Arriola said, questioning whether the jury had been “tainted” from what they had heard in the case.
Albright, in response, referred to precedent decisions that stated mistrials should only be declared under “urgent circumstances and very plain and obvious causes,” which Albright said “hasn't been shown here.”
Albright said the jury receiving instructions from Tolentino would “cure” them from considering “misleading information” while also saying the woman's testimony alone was enough to meet their burden.
Attorney General Douglas Moylan later explained to The Guam Daily Post that Albright had previously asked for a mistrial because “errors of law had occurred.”
Upon hearing the attorneys' arguments, Tolentino took a short break in his chambers. He returned to grant the defense's request for a mistrial.
Tolentino's reasoning, he said, was to ensure things “run a little more smoother,” particularly for Akoma's benefit.
“You especially, Dr. Akoma. Because your … interest is at stake in these proceedings, … that's why the court takes this seriously. I cannot tell the jury this and tell the jury that and rely (on) that they have a slate of evidence that they can recall without much effort – to the detriment of a fair and open trial,” Tolentino said. The judge then called in the jury and informed them they were discharged from coming to the proceedings.
After the parties cleared from the courtroom, Arriola told the Post, “I'm extremely disappointed in the ineptitude and incompetence of this attorney general's office.”
Moylan told the Post, after the decision, that since Albright had previously asked, Tolentino's decision is “consistent with both the prosecution and defense's belief that errors of law had occurred.”
On Monday afternoon, the parties in Akoma's case returned to court for a motion filed by Arriola to dismiss the case with prejudice. Tolentino took the matter under advisement.
