Opinion ID: 545175
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Trial Court's Ex Parte Communication with a Juror

Text: 39 During recross-examination of defendant White concerning his financial dealings with his sister Barbara Veasley (a defense witness who had already testified), the trial judge called a sidebar conference and made the following statement: 40 This morning a juror told me or asked me to point--asked to see me and I saw him. He wanted to point out to me that Mrs. Veasley was in the audience and signaling answers to Mr. White. I asked this morning to have Ms. Schnay sit in the courtroom during this morning's session before the break and observe and I observed. 41 During the course of the playing of tapes during the examination, there was no signalling. There is clear nodding and shaking of the head that I have observed in the last five minutes. Now you figure out how you want to communicate with her that she has moved from the right side of the courtroom which she was ... out of the line of vision of Mr. White to the left side of the courtroom which is directly in the line of vision of you, Mr. Grant. I will determine at some later time whether I will do anything further about this. But I would suggest that you have somebody in the courtroom in the audience that you can communicate to that can go be seated beside her. Either that or I'll order her removed from the courtroom. 42 When one of the attorneys requested that the court ask the juror if he had communicated his observations to the other jurors, the trial judge responded that he had already asked and that the juror had not. The trial judge also explained that he advised the juror not to reveal his observation to the other jurors during the trial but indicated that the juror may well choose to do so during deliberations since it was the juror's function to make observations that went to the credibility of a witness. 43 In spite of the fact that the issue was not raised below, Defendant White claims that the District Court on its own motion should have held a full hearing on the record to determine whether the incident biased the juror and, if so, whether he was entitled to a new trial. White urges, citing cases such as Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227, 74 S.Ct. 450, 98 L.Ed. 654 (1954), that we should presume in the absence of a hearing that the judge's conduct biased the juror and thus violated his sixth amendment right to an impartial jury. 44 In Remmer an unknown person suggested to a juror that he could make some money by bringing in a verdict for the defendant. The trial court discussed the matter with the prosecution and as a result an FBI investigation was conducted. The investigation suggested the remark was a joke, but neither the incident nor the report were ever revealed to the defense during trial. The Supreme Court determined that, under the circumstances, the contact was presumptively prejudicial. Although the Court did not believe that the presumption was irrebuttable, it believed such a rebuttal could only be made after notice to the parties and a hearing on the record. Id. at 228-29, 74 S.Ct. at 450-51. 45 In Rushen v. Spain, 464 U.S. 114, 104 S.Ct. 453, 78 L.Ed.2d 267 (1983), the Court again determined that contacts with a juror are subject to harmless error analysis. Id. at 118-19, 104 S.Ct. at 455-56. In Rushen, the Court determined that any constitutional error that may have occurred in the murder trial of a Black Panther was harmless. A juror had contacted the trial judge in the middle of trial to inform him that the trial had triggered a childhood memory of a friend who was murdered by a Black Panther. Although the juror told the judge that the matter upset her, she assured him that she could continue to hear the case without prejudice. The judge did not inform the parties of the contact during the trial. Id. at 115-16, 104 S.Ct. at 454. On a collateral motion for a new trial, the trial judge determined after a hearing that the contact did not prejudice the defendant's right to a fair trial. The defendant then brought a habeas corpus petition in the federal courts. On review of a lower court's decision to grant the petition, the Supreme Court reversed, affirming his conviction. Id. at 119, 104 S.Ct. at 456. 46 The Court did not hold that a hearing must always be held when any contact between a juror and a judge occurs. That issue was not before it. The Court did make several observations that aid in the resolution of this case: 47 There is scarcely a lengthy trial in which one or more jurors do not have occasion to speak to the trial judge about something, whether it relates to a matter of personal comfort or to some aspect of the trial. The lower federal courts' conclusion that an unrecorded ex parte communication between trial judge and juror can never be harmless error ignores these day-to-day realities of courtroom life and undermines society's interest in the administration of criminal justice. 48 This is not to say that ex parte communications between judge and juror are never of serious concern or that a federal court on habeas may never overturn a conviction for prejudice resulting from such communications. When an ex parte communication relates to some aspect of the trial, the trial judge generally should disclose the communication to counsel for all parties. The prejudicial effect of a failure to do so, however, can normally be determined by a post-trial hearing. 49 Id. at 118-19, 104 S.Ct. at 455-56 (footnotes omitted). 50 In this case the trial judge complied with the Supreme Court's mandate. He informed counsel of the contact and the nature of the limited information the juror gave him. Although there was some concern expressed that the juror might be unfairly biased against defendants other than White, there was never a formal request by any of the attorneys for an evidentiary hearing and findings of fact. Having failed to ask for these findings or seek any other relief in the District Court, defendant White now seeks relief for the first time on appeal. 51 Because of the extremely limited nature of the contact, we do not believe that the District Court was required to hold a hearing on its own motion. Thus, in order to prevail, White must demonstrate from facts in the record that actual prejudice occurred. From the information that is in the record, we conclude that there has been no showing of actual juror bias as is required in order to overturn the verdict. United States v. Pennell, 737 F.2d 521, 532 (6th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1158, 105 S.Ct. 906, 83 L.Ed.2d 921 (1985). A juror is not only entitled to make observations in the courtroom during trial that go to the credibility of a witness, a juror should be encouraged to do so. The juror's only contact with the judge was a brief conversation in which the juror reported his observations. The judge's only response to the juror was to ask if he had reported the contact to other jurors. After learning that he had not, the judge instructed the juror not to do so for the remainder of the trial. There was no attempt by the judge to influence the juror; there was no indication in the juror's remarks to the judge that the incident unduly prejudiced the defendant. 52