Opinion ID: 414336
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Instruction on Partial Verdict

Text: 33 While the jury was deliberating, it submitted the following note to Judge Bramwell: 34 Do we have to reach a verdict for all five defendants; that is, can some be guilty of one or more counts, and the others be undecided? 35 Brief for Appellant Burke at 44. The court responded: 36 Well, it's the desire of the Court and of all parties that if possible you return veridct [sic] on all five defendants if you can do so without violating your individual conscience. 37 Id. 38 The appellants argue that there is but one reasonable interpretation of this inquiry, namely, that the jury was considering the possibility of rendering a partial verdict and was unsure whether it was permitted to return such a verdict during the course of its deliberations. The appellants further contend that the district judge committed reversible error when he failed to instruct the jury under Fed.R.Crim.P. 31(b) that it could return a partial verdict at any time and reserve judgment on any remaining defendants or counts. Finally, the appellants maintain that their convictions should be reversed because the court's response to the jury inquiry was unduly coercive. 39 The appellants rely principally on this Court's decision in United States v. DiLapi, 651 F.2d 140 (2d Cir.1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 938, 102 S.Ct. 1427, 71 L.Ed.2d 648 (1982), to support their Rule 31(b) claim. In DiLapi, the jury reported during deliberations that it had reached verdicts on some of the defendants, but did not express at that time a preference for reporting a partial verdict. Defense counsel asked the court to give a Rule 31(b) instruction, but this request was denied. The defendant objected to the court's ruling, arguing that the judge committed reversible error under Rule 31(b) when he failed to instruct the jury of its right to render a partial verdict. 40 On appeal, we reviewed the important function that the jury serves in the American criminal justice system. We then focused on the unique problems that juries confront in multiple defendant trials, particularly in fulfilling their constitutional duty to ensure that the evidence against each defendant be given separate and individual consideration. See id. at 146-47; United States v. Calabro, 449 F.2d 885, 893 (2d Cir.1971), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 928, 92 S.Ct. 978, 30 L.Ed.2d 801 (1972). We explained that juries must be afforded considerable latitude in determining for themselves the structure of the deliberative process that will best assure individual consideration of each defendant, including full discretion to decide when to report its verdict. United States v. DiLapi, 651 F.2d at 146. We cautioned, however, that since unrestricted jury discretion poses a serious threat to the integrity of the judicial system, it is incumbent on the district judge to ensure that such discretion be exercised intelligently. Consistent with this duty to inform, the district judge would be expected to give a Rule 31(b) instruction under appropriate circumstances: 41 We think that juries should be neither encouraged nor discouraged to return a partial verdict, but should understand their options, especially when they have reached a stage in their deliberations at which they may well wish to report a partial verdict as to some counts or some defendants. In this case, the jury reported that it had reached a decision as to four of the defendants, was divided on the remaining two defendants, and awaited further instructions. At that point, particularly in view of counsel's request, an appropriate response from the trial judge should have included a neutral explanation of the jury's options either to report the verdicts reached, or to defer reporting of all verdicts until the conclusion of deliberations. 42 Id. at 147. 43 Upon concluding our review of the difficult procedural issues raised in multiple defendant trials, we ruled that the district judge's failure to give an instruction on partial verdicts did not violate Rule 31(b): 44 Plainly Rule 31(b) would be violated if a trial judge were to tell a jury it may not return a partial verdict or were to refuse a jury's request to return a partial verdict. But that is not what occurred here. Though the jury reported that it had reached verdicts as to some of the defendants, it did not indicate any preference for reporting a partial verdict. The request for return of a partial verdict came from counsel, and it was that request that Judge Bramwell refused. 45 .... 46 ... However, the absence of such an explanation [on partial verdicts] did not deny the appellants any protected right in a case such as this where the jury neither attempted to return a partial verdict nor even asked if it could do so. 47 Id. at 146-47. 48 In this appeal, there are three plausible interpretations of the disputed jury request. The jury might have been inquiring whether it would ultimately be required to reach a verdict as to each defendant. The request for instruction may have been intended as a preliminary inquiry to determine the various options available to the jury during deliberations. Finally, the question may have been a reflection of the jury's wish to render a partial verdict. We do not propose to second-guess the trial court in difficult situations where, as here, the request for instruction is ambiguous. The district judge is able to observe first hand the tenor of the trial and is best suited to make informed judgments upon requests for instruction. We will not overturn those judgments under Rule 31(b) or DiLapi except upon a specific showing that the court refused to accept a partial verdict or specifically instructed the jury that it would not be permitted to return a partial verdict. 49 The DiLapi case presented a much closer question of reversible error under Rule 31(b). In DiLapi, the jury sent a note to the judge stating: We have reached a verdict on four of the defendants. We are sharply and evenly split on the remaining two. We await further instruction from the Court. Id. at 144. Counsel then requested that the jury be given a Rule 31(b) instruction, but the judge refused. On the next day, the jury sent another note to the judge: We have reached a unanimous decision on seven counts, but remain hopelessly deadlocked on the remaining five counts. Id. at 145. Counsel again suggested that the jury be given a Rule 31(b) instruction, and the court rejected this request despite the clear possibility that the jury might have desired to render a partial verdict at that time. 50 In DiLapi, we questioned the district judge's failure to give a Rule 31(b) instruction under these circumstances, but nonetheless held that the absence of such an explanation did not deny the appellants any protected right. Id. at 147. This conclusion applies with equal force to the present dispute. Rule 31(b) requires only that the district judge accept a partial verdict upon request, and refrain from instructing the jury that they may not return a partial verdict. 51 We also find that the appellants were not prejudiced, nor was the jury coerced by the court's instruction. See generally United States v. Robinson, 560 F.2d 507, 517 (2d Cir.1977) (en banc), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 905, 98 S.Ct. 1451, 55 L.Ed.2d 496 (1978); United States v. Rao, 394 F.2d 354, 355 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 393 U.S. 845, 89 S.Ct. 129, 21 L.Ed.2d 116 (1968). Judge Bramwell's response to the jury's request for instruction was evenhanded and did not tend[ ] to coerce undecided jurors into reaching a verdict by abandoning without reason conscientiously held doubts. United States v. Robinson, 560 F.2d at 517, citing United States v. Green, 523 F.2d 229, 236 (2d Cir.1975), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 1074, 96 S.Ct. 858, 47 L.Ed.2d 84 (1976). We have recognized that the district court may instruct the jury in an evenhanded, noncoercive manner that it would prefer a unanimous verdict if accomplished without any juror yielding a conscientious conviction which he or she may have. United States v. Rao, 394 F.2d at 355; see United States v. Barash, 412 F.2d 26, 32 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 832, 90 S.Ct. 86, 24 L.Ed.2d 82 (1969). This charge, first recognized by the Supreme Court in Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492, 17 S.Ct. 154, 41 L.Ed. 528 (1896), remains valid in our Circuit. See United States v. Robinson, 560 F.2d at 517. 52 Finally, the length of time between the court's instruction and the actual rendering of the jury verdict is probative of the fact that the jury was not coerced or unduly influenced by the judge's remarks. The request for instruction occurred shortly after 12:00 noon on Saturday and the jury submitted additional requests and continued to deliberate until 6:25 p.m. When deliberations resumed on Monday, the jury submitted several other requests for instruction and did not reach a verdict until 5:20 p.m. on that day. This substantial interval between Judge Bramwell's remark and the rendering of the verdict indicates that the jury freely exercised its decisionmaking authority and was not unduly influenced by the court's instruction. See United States v. O'Connor, 580 F.2d 38, 44 (2d Cir.1978) (Court permits two modified Allen charges, especially since the jury, which had reported that it was hung, continued to deliberate for several hours after the second charge was given.); United States v. Robinson, 560 F.2d at 517.