Opinion ID: 2812090
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Court’s Duty to Investigate

Text: When there is juror misconduct that presents a potential for substantial prejudice to a defendant’s right to a fair trial, there is a “rebuttable presumption of prejudice,” and “[t]he trial judge is then duty bound to further investigate the totality of circumstances surrounding the outside influence to determine its impact on jury impartiality.” Williamson, 72 Haw. at 102, 807 P.2d at 596 (emphasis added). An investigation into the totality of circumstances includes an “individual examination of potentially tainted jurors, outside the presence of the other jurors, to determine the influence, if any, of the extraneous matters.” Id. For example, in Williamson, the trial court did “not inquir[e] into the identity of the juror who brought the dictionary and obtain[] a personal explanation from him or her as to its use”; thus, “the trial court did not have before it 27 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER the totality of circumstances surrounding the misconduct to decide whether it was harmless.” Id. at 104, 807 P.2d at 597. In contrast, in State v. Amorin, 58 Haw. 623, 574 P.2d 895 (1978), the trial court had effectively investigated the totality of the circumstances, including examination of the relevant juror. Id. at 626, 574 P.2d at 898. Accordingly, this court affirmed the finding of the trial court that the misconduct “did not infect the rest of the jury” and was “satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the juror misconduct . . . was harmless and a new trial was properly denied.” Id. at 631, 574 P.2d at 900. Thus, where a prima facie case of improper influence has been shown, raising a presumption of prejudice, the totality of the circumstances includes, at a minimum, the court’s examination of the juror or jurors involved in the misconduct. In short, there must be sufficient findings such that a reviewing court “can determine whether the [outside influence] was harmless or not.” Messamore, 2 Haw. App. at 652, 639 P.2d at 420 (finding reversible error in the trial court’s failure to inquire into the totality of the circumstances surrounding statements overheard by a juror). To overcome the presumption of prejudice, the State must prove that the outside influence on the jury was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Williamson, 72 Haw. at 102, 807 P.2d 28 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER at 596; see Furutani, 76 Hawaiʻi at 181, 873 P.2d at 60 (“[T]he burden of proving harmlessness falls squarely on the prosecution.”). The trial court’s investigation of the totality of the circumstances is a necessary prerequisite to finding that the misconduct was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Amorin, 58 Haw. at 631, 574 P.2d at 900. Therefore, in this case the circuit court was required to investigate the totality of circumstances surrounding the outside influence to determine its impact on the jury’s impartiality. See Williamson, 72 Haw. at 102, 807 P.2d at 596. The court’s investigation should have included, at a minimum, an examination of the foreperson. In such an examination, the circuit court might have inquired as to whether the foreperson had heard and understood the court’s instruction not to “talk to the . . . witnesses”; whether there was a reason for not complying with this instruction; whether the foreperson gave the witness a business card with personal contact information in expectation of a response; whether the foreperson had approached any other witness; and whether the foreperson told other jurors or talked to other persons about his contact with Bowen. The court might have also considered whether it was advisable to ask other jurors whether the contact between the foreperson and the witness was discussed during deliberations. 29 FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST’S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER Because Chin made a prima facie showing of juror misconduct of a nature that had the potential to substantially prejudice her right to a fair trial, the burden was on the State to rebut the presumption of prejudice by showing that the contact was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. In light of the absence of an inquiry by the circuit court as to the totality of the circumstances surrounding the potential misconduct, there was no showing by the State that such misconduct was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, it was error for the trial court to deny Chin’s motion for new trial without investigation into the totality of the circumstances surrounding the outside influence.