Opinion ID: 774741
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Publication of juror names and addresses.

Text: 35 Next, Whitehead argues that his right to a fair and impartial jury was violated because a local newspaper published the names and addresses of the jurors. Indeed, the Supreme Court has found that publication of juror names and addresses can contribute to the deprivation of a fair trial. See Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333 (1966). Sheppard, like Estes and Rideau, was a case of presumed prejudice, however. The result in that case arose from a trial infected not only by a background of extremely inflammatory pub licity but also by a courthouse given over to accommodate the public appetite for carnival. Murphy, 421 U.S. at 799. Moreover, in Sheppard the publication of juror names and addresses meant that the jurors were thrust into the role of celebrities. The publication of their names and addresses resulted in expressions of opinion from both cranks and friends, including anonymous letters. See Sheppard, 384 U.S. at 353. There is no evidence of similar juror contacts in this case, and the Sheppard Court based its decision on the totality of the circumstances. We conclude that Sheppard does not require a finding of presumed prejudice based on the publication of juror names and addresses in the circumstances of this case. 36 In addition, the mere fact that the jury was exposed to something which could theoretically affect its vote is not sufficient to require a new trial. As the Supreme Court has noted: 37 [D]ue 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. The safeguards of juror impartiality, such as voir dire and protective instructions from the trial judge, are not infallible; it is virtually impossible to shield jurors from every contact or influence that might theoretically affect their vote. Due process means a jury capable and willing to decide the case solely on the evidence before it, and a trial judge ever watchful to prevent prejudicial occurrences and to determine the effect of such occurrences when they happen. 38 Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 217 (1982). 39 Here, Whitehead simply presents speculation that the jury was not impartial because jurors complained about the publication of their names and addresses. Evidence that the jury was displeased that their anonymity was lost in a murder trial, however, is a long way from evidence that jurors were less than impartial. We agree with the Illinois Supreme Court that [w]e cannot infer . . . on this basis that an honest juror would therefore give sway to his emotions and disregard the fundamental requirement of a fair trial and decide to convict a person in order to be absolutely secure. People v. Whitehead, 662 N.E.2d 1304, 1326 (Ill. 1996) (Whitehead II). Cf. Kinnamon v. Scott, 40 F.3d 731, 733 (5th Cir. 1994) (That members of a jury in a capital murder case do not want the defendant examining information concerning their home addresses, phone numbers, etc. raises no concern of constitutional magnitude.). There is no reasonable possibility that the publication of names and addresses affected the jury's verdict, and this is fatal to Whitehead's claim. See United States v. Davis, 15 F.3d 1393, 1412 (7th Cir. 1994). In sum, the Illinois Supreme Court's ruling on this issue was not contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established federal law. 40 In this case, it would be sheer speculation to suggest the publication of addresses would prejudice the jury, and accordingly we do not think a hearing was necessary on these facts. '[T]he duty to investigate arises only when the party alleging misconduct makes an adequate showing of extrinsic influence to overcome the presumption of jury impartiality. In other words, there must be something more than mere speculation.' Id. (quoting United States v. Barshov, 733 F.2d 842, 851 (11th Cir. 1984)). 41 Whitehead nevertheless claims that the publication of jurors' names and addresses requires a hearing to determine its effect under Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227, 229 (1954). In Remmer, a third party contacted a juror and suggested that he could profit by bringing in a verdict favorable to the petitioner. Id. at 228. The defendant moved for a new trial and sought a hearing on the issue, which was denied by the trial court. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that a hearing was necessary in these circumstances. As the Remmer Court explained: 42 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, for obvious reasons, deemed presumptively prejudicial, if not made in pursuance of known rules of the court and the instruction and directions of the court made during the trial, with full knowledge of the parties. The presumption is not conclusive, but the burden rests heavily upon the Government to establish, after notice to and a hearing of the defendant, that such contact with the juror was harmless to the defendant. 43 Id. at 229. 44 Although it is true that Remmer calls for a hearing in many cases where there is a communication with a juror during a trial, we do not agree that Remmer applies to the publication of juror addresses. See United States v.-Williams- Davis, 90 F.3d 490, 501 (D.C. Cir. 1996) (In affirming the trial court, we endorse its view that defendants bringing post-trial claims of mid-trial media exposure must make a threshold showing of a likelihood of prejudice. . . . [W]e think Remmer never applied at all outside the area of private contacts with jurors.). See also United States v. Boylan, 898 F.2d 230, 258-60 (1st Cir. 1990). The media publication of the jurors' names and addresses does not address a matter at issue in the trial or provide any new information about the case to the jurors, nor did the context of the publication, as in Sheppard, demonstrate a likelihood that it would affect the jury's deliberations. This is not a third-party contact of the sort described in Remmer. We conclude that the Illinois Supreme Court's determination that a hearing was unnecessary was appropriate on these facts. 2 45 3. Emotional outburst in jury's presence and judge's absence. 46 Finally, Whitehead claims that the jury was prejudiced because at one point in the trial, the judge, counsel, and court reporter retired to chambers while the jury, Whitehead, and the victim's mother, who was on the witness stand, remained in court. Whitehead presents affidavits from a juror and the court clerk, stating that during the judge's absence the victim's mother rose and began shouting at the defendant and crying. Allegedly, she then asked the petitioner why he had killed her daughter. Once back on the bench, the trial judge admonished the jury to disregard any comments which might have been made by the witness. 47 Obviously, the trial judge should never have permitted this circumstance to arise by leaving the courtroom with jurors in the jury box, the victim's mother on the witness stand, and the petitioner seated at his table. It is not surprising that a mother would have this reaction in the presence of the suspected murderer of her child, and had the judge been there he could have prevented or at least controlled the situation. The question is what effect this error would have on the jury. Any jury would expect that a close relative of the victim would have strong emotions towards the suspected killer. The outburst directed at the accused in the presence of the jury did not provide any information not admitted at trial that could indicate guilt or innocence. Unfortunate as the event was, it was not an error that automatically requires a new trial. 48 In a similar capital case, Kinnamon, the Fifth Circuit addressed a situation where the jury, the prosecutor, the petitioner, and the victim's daughter were left alone in a room together. According to a juror affidavit, the victim's daughter was crying loudly in front of the jury, although the juror could not remember what the daughter was saying. The petitioner's sister provided an affidavit that the daughter began screaming that the petitioner had killed her father. The state judge presiding over a habeas challenge was unpersuaded that this outburst had occurred. The Kinnamon court concluded, we are unpersuaded that there was any prejudicial error of constitutional magnitude. That the young girl was upset and angry at the person accused by the state as the murderer of her father communicated nothing new to the jury, even if the incident occurred. 40 F.3d at 734. We agree with this analysis. Moreover, the trial court here specifically instructed the jurors to ignore any comments they might have heard. This further suggests that the comments would not have had any impact on the jury. See Messer v. Kemp, 760 F.2d 1080 (11th Cir. 1985) (noting import of trial court's curative instruction in case of emotional outburst before jury). Finally, the evidence of defendant's guilt was overwhelming, and this militates against a finding that the introduction of the disputed [material] effected the jury's verdict. United States v. Paneras, 222 F.3d 406, 411 (7th Cir. 2000). 49 Whitehead nevertheless claims a hearing was necessary to determine whether or not the mother's outburst had any impact on the jury's impartiality. Again, Whitehead cites Remmer for this proposition. As noted, in Remmer a juror was anonymously contacted and told he could profit if he found for the defendant. Although the juror told the judge (who then had the FBI investigate), the defendant did not find out about the contact until after the jury found him guilty. The government responds that Remmer does not apply to these facts because they do not involve jury tampering. True, Remmer involved a private contact that appeared to be jury tampering, something the court labeled presumptively prejudicial, requiring a hearing to determine whether the contact was harmless. Whether the absence of jury tampering would foreclose the applicability of the Remmer presumption is open to debate. Cf. United States v. Dutkel, 192 F.3d 893, 895 (9th Cir. 1999) (limiting Remmer's presumption of prejudice to cases where jury tampering established). Even if the Remmer presumption applies to jury contacts which do not involve jury tampering, how ever, we nevertheless conclude that the Remmer presumption does not apply on these facts. 50 The mother's outburst was directed at Whitehead, not the jury. Although the judge was inexplicably absent, the jury heard the outburst collectively and was then admonished immediately when the judge returned to disregard any comments that may have been made by the witness when the attorneys were absent and when the Court was absent. No one present, including Whitehead, claims the mother said anything to the jury, and her recorded testimony after the outburst reiterated her grief of losing her daughter. The mother did not attempt to persuade the jury, nor did she provide them with any extraneous information about the facts of the case. This is a situation quite unlike the private communication with the jury encountered in Remmer. The mother's outburst was not a purposeful intrusion into the sanctity of the juror's domain. See Schaff v. Snyder, 190 F.3d 513, 534 (distinguishing a child's whisper to its parent that was overheard by a juror from a purposeful intrusion). While understandably emotional, the statement was not prejudicial. 51 This case involves an innocuous comment, and as we have held previously, no Remmer hearing is necessary in these circumstances. See United States v. Thibodeaux, 758 F.2d 199, 202-03 (7th Cir. 1985) (district court did not err where no inquiry was made into juror reaction to a communication because, unlike Remmer, the comment heard by a juror was ambiguous and innocuous). Furthermore, a number of cases from other circuits confine Remmer to private contacts with jurors that actually pose a danger of prejudicing the jury. See, e.g., White v. Smith, 984 F.2d 163 (6th Cir. 1993) (not applying Remmer where victim's mother, a spectator, told jury I will pray for you before jury retired to deliberate); Wright v. Angelone, 151 F.3d 151, 160 n.6 (4th Cir. 1998) (limiting Remmer to cases where petitioner introduce[d] competent evidence that there was an extrajudicial communication or contact, and that it was more than innocuous interventions.) (internal quotations and citations omitted); Boylan, 898 F.2d at 261 (limiting Remmer presumption of prejudice to cases where there is an egregious tampering or third party communication which directly injects itself into the jury process.). See also United States v. Brooks, 161 F.3d 1240, 1247 (10th Cir. 1998) (a juror was witnessed smoking a cigarette outside during a lunch break and talking to two security officers for at least ten minutes; the court concluded that Remmer did not apply because there was no evidence in the record that the discussion with the security officers was about the matter pending before the jury.). These decisions recognize that not all juror contacts present Remmer situations, and are in accord with subsequent Supreme Court holdings respecting juror contacts. See, e.g., Phillips, 455 U.S. 209 (not applying Rem mer presumption where juror applied for job in the district attorney's office); Rushen v. Spain, 464 U.S. 114 (1983) (not applying Remmer presumption in case of ex parte juror contact with judge). This case, like the abovementioned circuit decisions, simply does not implicate the Remmer presumption. The emotional comment, directed at the accused in front of the entire jury, would not affect a reasonable juror's deliberation as to whether or not Whitehead committed the crime. 52 Whitehead emphasizes, however, that the mother's outburst occurred off the record. While this is indeed cause for concern, cf. Degrave v. United States, 820 F.2d 870, 872 (7th Cir. 1987), it is not necessarily a decisive error. The significance of an off-the-record contact or communication with one or more jurors will vary with the circumstances of each case. Cf. Paneras, 222 F.3d at 411 (Each case turns on its own facts, and on 'the degree and pervasiveness of the prejudicial influence possibly resulting.') (quoting United States v. Solomon, 422 F.2d 1110, 1118 (7th Cir. 1970)). In this case, there is no mystery about the relevant facts of the mother's outburst; Whitehead, who was himself a witness to the mother's outburst, does not allege that anything other than the abovementioned comments were made. Moreover, the Illinois Supreme Court assumed that the outburst occurred as alleged by Whitehead. We will not speculate in these circumstances that more might have been said or done. Cf. Davis, 15 F.3d at 1412-13. See also Brooks, 161 F.3d 1240. 53 The fact that the outburst was off the record bears consideration, however, in terms of the jury's mental state. The question raised here is not what was said, but rather how the jury reacted to this event. The fact that the outburst was off the record, in the absence of the state trial judge, means that the trial judge would not be in a position to ascertain the effect of the mother's outburst as it was occurring. The content and duration of the outburst, however, is such that it is not reasonable to imagine it would affect the jury's deliberations. And, despite the off-the-record nature of the outburst, it is also very significant that the jury was instructed to ignore any comments made during the judge's absence. See Francis v. Franklin, 471 U.S. 307, 324 n.9 (1985) (crucial assumption of our constitutional system is that jurors carefully follow the trial court's instructions). 54 In this case, the Illinois Supreme Court gave careful thought to Whitehead's arguments and treated his allegation of the mother's outburst as true. The court concluded: [t]he incident was apparently brief, it was isolated, there was no attempt to obtain the jury's sympathy as a result of it, the court admonished the jury, and there was no indication in the record that it would have been unable to heed the admonition and disregard the incident during its deliberations. Simply put, mere speculation concerning prejudice to the defendant is not sufficient to warrant reversal. Whitehead II, 662 N.E.2d at 1326. We agree. 55 The trial court's error, which led to the mother's outburst, was harmless error. 3 Even under Remmer, the presumption is rebutted if the court finds that there was no 'reasonable possibility' that the verdict was affected by the contact. See United States v. Sanders, 962 F.2d 660, 668 (7th Cir. 1992) (quoting United States v. Bruscino, 687 F.2d 938, 940 (7th Cir. 1982) (en banc)). Factors that the court should look to in making this determination include the extent and nature of the unauthorized contact, the power of curative instructions, and the responses of the jury. Id. at 668-69. 56 The extent and nature of the unauthorized contact, and the trial court's curative instruction, leave no reasonable possibility that the verdict was affected by the contact. Although the events occurred off the record, their nature and the curative instruction indicate that an evidentiary hearing into the responses of the jury was not required. Cf. Porter v. Gramley, 112 F.3d 1308, 1318 (7th Cir. 1997) (record was insufficient to show actual juror bias in case where court assumed the trial court conducted an inadequate hearing on juror bias). In short, the harmlessness of the mother's outburst precludes habeas relief.