Opinion ID: 214687
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Motion for Mistrial Based on Juror's Interaction Properly Denied

Text: Moore argues that the court should have granted his motion for a mistrial because a juror encountered one of his associates at a local sandwich shop during a lunch break, and because she told five of her fellow jurors about the experience afterward. He contends that the jury was compromised because of the incident, the court's subsequent questioning of the jury was insufficient, and the juror's relaying of the experience to her fellow jurors violated the court's order not to discuss the case before deliberations. We reject these arguments because the court's response to the unintentional interaction was proper, and there is no indication in the record that the jury was compromised or that the jury discussed Moore's case before deliberations. We review a district court's decision on motions requesting a mistrial for an abuse of discretion. Lane, 591 F.3d at 927. The trial court is in the best position to determine the seriousness of the incident in question, particularly as it relates to what has transpired in the course of the trial. United States v. Clarke, 227 F.3d 874, 881 (7th Cir.2000). In a criminal case, any private communication, contact, or tamperingdirectly or indirectlywith a juror during a trial about the matter pending before the jury is presumptively prejudicial. Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227, 229, 74 S.Ct. 450, 98 L.Ed. 654 (1954). However, the presumption is not conclusive. The burden rests heavily on the government to establish that the contact was harmless. Id.; United States v. Al-Shahin, 474 F.3d 941, 949 (7th Cir. 2007). The trial court has substantial discretion in handling extrajudicial juror communications. Al- Shahin, 474 F.3d at 949; United States v. Thibodeaux, 758 F.2d 199, 202 (7th Cir.1985). It decides how to structure its investigation into a potentially harmful communication. United States v. Warner, 498 F.3d 666, 680 (7th Cir.2007). And, depending on the facts before it, it may rightfully decide that no formal hearing or structured voir dire of the jury is necessary at all. See, e.g., Whitehead v. Cowan, 263 F.3d 708, 723 (7th Cir.2001) (hearing unnecessary where incident did not address a matter at issue in trial, provide new information to the jury, or demonstrate a likelihood of affecting deliberations). With these standards in mind, we turn to the facts of this case. The court advised the jurors on the first day of trial that they needed to notify the court if they had any contact with the attorneys outside of the courtroom, or anything unusual happened. On the third day of trial, one of the jurors, Juror I, [6] reported that during the lunch break, she went to a local sandwich shop, and some of Moore's family and friends were there. As she was leaving the store, one of the persons in the group did not move out of her way, so she had to walk around him. She had lunch with five of her fellow jurors that day, and told them what happened. She then reported the incident to the court. Outside the presence of the rest of the jury and the parties, the court spoke with Juror I. Then, outside the presence of the jury and Moore, the judge told Moore's attorney and the prosecutor what happened and that he had spoken with Juror I privately. The court reported that Juror I said she didn't feel intimidated or fearful. She wasn't afraid or anything. And that she indicated it does not affect her consideration of the case. The court decided that it would conduct a more thorough voir dire of Juror I regarding the incident, as well as question each of the five jurors she spoke to. Each session occurred in a closed courtroom, on the record, and outside the presence of any other juror or party. Juror I relayed the incident as follows: I was at Subway and I had gotten what I had ordered. And while I was paying, I turned around and looked at the door and I saw the people that had been sitting in the back watching what was going on in court close to the door. And when I got my change, I started to the door and the ladies, they was all scattered out. The lady got in one line and the man stepped out, and I couldn't get past there, and he didn't move so I went around him, the ladies, around to the door to go. Got in my car and I left. The court then conducted a voir dire of each juror that Juror I had lunch with. Each of the five jurors relayed some variation of the fact that Juror I had to walk around Moore's associate to leave the sandwich shop. For example, Juror B testified that she was told that when [Juror I] got ready to leave the Subway, she had tothe gentleman was in the way so she had to walk around him and around the other women. Juror T said that the people with [Moore's associate] stepped away and he didn't. And she wasshe felt she had to walk around him, but nothing really happened. Each juror stated that it would not affect his or her ability to remain fair and impartial. The court then brought Moore, his attorney, and the prosecution back into the courtroom and issued its findings on the incident. It stated that: The court is convinced that this jury has not been tainted or compromised. Each one of them said that they would not hold it against [Moore]. And in fact most of them, in fact the ones that were just told this, indicated it was just no big deal, including the one that this happened to. Moore's attorney moved for mistrial out of concern for my client's fairness to the trial and the fact that we have so many weapons that have been exhibited.... I'm still fearful the jurors, to themselves, may be concealing their own personal feelings about these things and could be fearful. I think we should err on the side of caution. The court denied the motion for mistrial, finding that the jury had not been compromised by the lunchtime encounter. On appeal, Moore argues that the court's voir dire of the jury was insufficient, and that it should have declared a mistrial because the encounter prejudiced the jury against him. He also contends that Juror I's relaying of the experience to her fellow jurors violated the court's instruction not to discuss the case prior to deliberations. Moore's argument that the court's inquiry was insufficiently tailored does not withstand scrutiny. The court is given the flexibility on whether and how to question a jury following a potentially improper extrajudicial incident. Warner, 498 F.3d at 680. Here, the court chose to conduct a formalized inquiry even though Juror I's interaction with Moore's associate, where no words, gestures, or materials were exchanged, is not of the type that necessarily raises a presumption of prejudice. See Brown v. Finnan, 598 F.3d 416, 425 (7th Cir.2010) (questioning prejudicial effect where comment did not weigh on perceived guilt or innocence, and there was no attempt at persuasion or delivery of extraneous information). The court's decision to individually question Juror I as well as each juror she spoke to was a proper and thorough exercise of its discretion. Moore's argument that a mistrial was necessary because the jury was compromised must fail because there is no sign of an adverse impact in the record. At the time of the lunchtime incident Moore's attorney speculated that the jurors may have been fearful, and proposed that the court err on the side of caution in its reaction, but speculation alone is insufficient to trigger a mistrial. Quite simply, due process does not require a new trial every time a juror has been placed in a potentially compromising situation. Were that the rule, few trials would be constitutionally acceptable. Warner, 498 F.3d at 679 (citation omitted). The jurors stated that nothing really happened and that they remained impartial. Their belief that they could deliver a fair and just verdict is supported by their conviction of Moore on two charges, but acquittal on a third. The court did not err in its response to the unintentional encounter, or in finding after its investigation that the jury was not compromised. Finally, Moore argues that Juror I's relaying of her experience to five of her fellow jurors violated the court's order not to discuss the trial before deliberations. He correctly notes that if the court instructs the jury not to discuss the trial until deliberations, it is juror misconduct if such communication occurs. Al- Shahin, 474 F.3d at 949. However, there is no indication in the record that Juror I discussed the facts of the case against Moore, or any notion of perceived guilt or innocence. On the contrary, Juror I's prompt disclosure shows that she was diligent in following the court's instruction to report any outside contact, so the court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for mistrial.