Opinion ID: 2570398
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: 35 Whether Susan's motion for a new trial based on alleged juror misconduct was properly denied.

Text: ś 36 We review a district court's ruling on a motion for a new trial to determine whether the court abused its discretion. Absent an abuse of discretion, we will affirm a district court's decision concerning whether or not to grant a motion for a new trial. State v. Walker (1996), 280 Mont. 346, 354, 930 P.2d 60, 64-65 (citations omitted). ś 37 During the course of the jury's deliberations, the District Court received several questions and notes from the jury regarding one of the jurors, Joseph Sullivan (Sullivan). The jury asked, Can we discredit a juror? The foreperson sent a note stating: I believe that 11 people sat down at the table Monday ready to deliberate. I believe one person set out to keep us from following the instructions, weighing the evidence, using our collective memory to weigh the evidence, studying the exhibits and deliberating this case. The court received the following note from another juror requesting that the judge meet with the foreperson: We have all been working together for the last week. Eleven of us have deliberated fairly and honestly. However, we have one juror who has manipulated the rest of us for 4 days. The eleven of us feel we have been betrayed and not allowed to do our job as specified by the court due to the narrow viewpoint of the one individual. ś 38 Susan filed a motion for a mistrial based upon a breakdown in the deliberative process of the jury, which the court denied. The jury returned a guilty verdict on the criminal endangerment count. When the jurors were subsequently polled, Sullivan stated, No, I've changed my mind. The court directed the jurors to retire to the jury room to again consider whether they could reach a unanimous verdict on the criminal endangerment count. Shortly thereafter, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty. ś 39 Following the trial, Susan moved for a new trial based in part on her contention that juror misconduct had denied her a fair trial. In support, she introduced an affidavit prepared by Sullivan alleging that he had been unaware of the jurors' notes and their attempt to discredit him. Sullivan further alleged that he would not have changed his mind back to guilty had he been aware of the jurors' allegations and notes to the judge. The State moved to strike the affidavit pursuant to Rule 606(b), M.R.Evid. The court ordered the affidavit stricken and found no evidence of juror misconduct, with or without the affidavit. The court thus denied Susan's motion for a new trial. ś 40 Susan claims that the court erred in striking Sullivan's affidavit and denying her motion for a new trial. Motions for a new trial are governed by § 46-16-702, MCA, which states in relevant part that the court may grant the defendant a new trial if required in the interest of justice. Rule 606(b) of the Montana Rules of Evidence states in relevant part that: [u]pon an inquiry into the validity of a verdict or indictment, a juror may not testify as to any matter or statement occurring during the course of the jury's deliberations or to the effect of anything upon that or any other juror's mind or emotions as influencing the juror to assent or dissent from the verdict or indictment or concerning the juror's mental processes in connection therewith. Nor may a juror's affidavit ... concerning a matter about which the juror would be precluded from testifying be received for these purposes. As an exception to this rule, a juror may testify or submit an affidavit on matters concerning: (1) whether extraneous prejudicial information was improperly brought to the jury's attention; or (2) whether any outside influence was brought to bear upon any juror; or (3) whether any juror has been induced to assent to any general or special verdict, or finding on any question submitted to them by the court, by a resort to the determination of chance. Rule 606(b), M.R.Evid. In striking Sullivan's affidavit, the court found that the exceptions to Rule 606(b) did not apply, because the notes were part of the jury's deliberative process. The court found that the jurors acted as they had been instructed: you should not talk to your fellow jurors about anything that you feel necessary to bring to the attention of the judge. ś 41 The jurors' notes to the court constituted an entirely internal process and did not introduce an extraneous or outside element into the jury's deliberative process. The jurors' notes did not signal a breakdown in the jury's deliberative process as Susan contends. The jurors had been instructed to bring questions and problems to the judge's attention. We fail to see how the jurors' notes could have had any bearing on the issue of Susan's guilt or innocence. Even assuming arguendo that the jurors' notes affected Sullivan's vote, such testimony is prohibited by Rule 606(b), M.R.Evid., and the District Court properly struck Sullivan's affidavit. ś 42 The District Court did not abuse its discretion in striking the affidavit and denying Susan's motion for a new trial based on alleged juror misconduct.