Opinion ID: 475346
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: improper jury contact

Text: 3 All nine appellants take issue with the district court's 2 ruling on the improper jury contact issue. Before proceedings resumed in the morning of the day on which closing arguments were given, the trial judge was informed by the marshal that one of the jurors had requested to speak to the judge. Juror Adams was brought to the judge's chambers where, in the presence of the judge, his court personnel, and the court reporter, Juror Adams disclosed that she had been contacted on the previous night by a woman who made reference to the trial and to one of the defendants, Joe Reams. 3 After discussing the details with the judge, Adams stated that she had not mentioned the incident to the other jurors. The judge excused Adams and replaced her with an alternate pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 24(c). Adams was instructed not to discuss the incident with anyone. To avoid her having any contact with the jury, the judge had Adams wait in his chambers until the jury returned to the courtroom, at which time Adams left the courthouse. When proceedings resumed, the judge informed the parties and their counsel, outside the presence of the jury, that he had excused and replaced the Juror Lula Adams because of a matter that developed overnight that she brought to my attention. No inquiry was made by the government or by the defendants. When the jury was brought into the courtroom, the judge repeated that Juror Adams was excused because of something [that] developed overnight. 4 After the jury returned its verdicts, the judge interviewed the jurors individually and without counsel present. The judge learned that Juror Adams had in fact mentioned the incident in the jury room minutes before she disclosed to the judge that she had been contacted. The judge learned that when Adams arrived at the courthouse that morning, she began discussing the incident with a few jurors, but was stopped by the jurors when she revealed that the woman who approached her mentioned the trial and defendant Joe Reams. The other jurors told Adams to see the judge immediately about the incident. Adams then left the jury room and requested to see the judge. Transcripts of these post-verdict interviews and the interview with Juror Adams were prepared and given to the parties. 5 After counsel had an opportunity to review these transcripts, the court again interviewed the jurors separately, but with the parties and their counsel present. Counsel were allowed to submit questions to the judge, who questioned the jurors. The interviews revealed that two of the twelve jurors did not know that a juror had been contacted. The other ten jurors were aware to various degrees that Adams had been contacted. Five jurors knew that she had been contacted, but were unaware that a name had been mentioned. The other five jurors knew that she had been contacted and that Reams' name was mentioned. The alternate also knew of a contact, but was unaware of any names mentioned. 6 The court found that the jury's deliberations were not biased by the improper contact. The jurors testified that after Adams left the jury room the incident was never again discussed. Each juror testified that the improper contact did not affect the deliberations and had no bearing whatsoever on the verdicts. The court noted that the jurors were candid and forthcoming in their responses to the questions. No juror hesitated or was reluctant in answering. The court concluded that the defendants were not prejudiced, and denied all motions for mistrial and new trial. 7 The appellants contend that they were deprived of their constitutional right to be present at all stages of the trial and their parallel right pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 43 when the court interviewed Juror Adams and the other members of the jury outside their presence and the presence of counsel. The appellants also contend that the court erred in not examining each juror in the presence of counsel immediately upon discovering that Juror Adams had been contacted. Finally, they contend that the court erred in denying their motion for new trial because they were prejudiced by the improper contact. 8 We hold that the appellants' constitutional right to be present at every stage of the criminal proceedings was not violated by the court's interview of Juror Adams.  '[T]he mere occurrence of an ex parte conversation between a trial judge and a juror does not constitute a deprivation of any constitutional right.'  United States v. Gagnon, 470 U.S. 522, 105 S.Ct. 1482, 1484, 84 L.Ed.2d 486 (1985) (quoting Rushen v. Spain, 464 U.S. 114, 125-26, 104 S.Ct. 453, 459-60, 78 L.Ed.2d 267 (1983) (Stevens, J., concurring in judgment)). See United States v. Watchmaker, 761 F.2d 1459, 1466 (11th Cir.1985) (where trial judge took great care in framing his comments, where transcripts were made available to counsel, and where post judgment motions provided opportunity to explore any possible prejudice, there was no due process violation), cert. denied, --- U.S. ---, ---, 106 S.Ct. 879-80, 88 L.Ed.2d 917, 917 (1986). We also hold that although the better practice would have been to notify the parties and their counsel immediately upon learning that Adams had been improperly contacted, the failure to do so and the failure to examine immediately the other jurors in the presence of the parties and their counsel does not constitute reversible error in this case because in any event the other members of the jury were not prejudiced by the improper contact. The post-verdict interviews in the presence of the parties and their counsel sufficiently demonstrate this absence of prejudice. The district judge should be afforded a considerable measure of discretion in handling these inadvertent situations. 9 This court recently reviewed the relevant case law in United States v. Caldwell, 776 F.2d 989, 997-98 (11th Cir.1985), and concluded that the cases fall along a continuum. At one end, the cases focus on the certainty that some impropriety exists. At the other end of the continuum, the cases focus on the seriousness of the accusation of impropriety. The more serious the potential jury contamination, especially where alleged extrinsic influence is involved, the heavier the burden to investigate. Id. at 998 (citing United States v. Brantley, 733 F.2d 1429 (11th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1006, 105 S.Ct. 1362, 84 L.Ed.2d 383 (1985); United States v. Phillips, 664 F.2d 971 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 906, 103 S.Ct. 208, 74 L.Ed.2d 166 (1982); United States v. Forrest, 620 F.2d 446 (5th Cir.1980)). We are concerned here with the latter end of the continuum and are guided by United States v. Forrest, which is cited in both United States v. Brantley and United States v. Phillips. 10 Forrest involved a similar contact to that involved in the case at bar. Prior to closing arguments a juror in the Forrest case told the trial judge that she was approached by her niece in an effort to influence her to acquit the defendants. The discussion between the juror and the judge, however, took place in the judge's chambers in the presence of counsel for both parties. The tainted juror assured the judge that the other jurors did not know of the contact. The court excused and replaced the juror, but did not examine the other jurors. The defendants were convicted. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit remanded for a hearing to determine whether the other members of the jury were prejudiced. The court of appeals held that the trial court's investigation into the improper contact was inadequate, and that a tainted juror's testimony that the other jurors knew nothing about the improper contact is an insufficient basis on which to conclude that the other jurors have not been contaminated. Forrest, 620 F.2d at 457-58. Only the other jurors can enlighten [the court] properly on this subject. Id. at 457. 11 The appellants contend that the Forrest examination of the other jurors in this case should have taken place before rather than after the verdicts were rendered. Although Forrest can be read to suggest that the examination of the jurors should take place if possible before the verdicts are rendered, failure to do so in this case is not reversible error because the post-verdict interviews in the presence of the parties and their counsel demonstrate that the jurors were not prejudiced. Such post-verdict interviews are constitutionally sufficient to decide allegations of juror impartiality. See Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 217-18, 102 S.Ct. 940, 946, 71 L.Ed.2d 78 (1982); Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227, 230, 74 S.Ct. 450, 451, 98 L.Ed. 654 (1954). 4 The crucial issue is the degree and pervasiveness of the prejudicial influence. United States v. Williams, 568 F.2d 464, 470 (5th Cir.1978). We have reviewed the transcript of the post-verdict interviews and conclude that the district court's findings are not clearly erroneous. The jurors were not prejudiced by the improper contact. We hold, therefore, that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motions for new trial on the basis of improper jury contact.