Opinion ID: 537726
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Girlfriend's Fears

Text: 66 The threshold question with respect to this incident is whether or not the girlfriend's expressions of fear about possible Mafia retaliation should be analyzed under the standard governing ex parte contacts with jurors. In Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227, 74 S.Ct. 450, 98 L.Ed. 654 (1954), the Supreme Court stated that any private communication, contact, or tampering, directly or indirectly, with a juror during a trial about the matter pending before the jury is ... deemed presumptively prejudicial. Id. at 229, 74 S.Ct. at 451. The burden then shifts to the government to show that the contact was harmless to the defendant. Id. The paradigmatic example of such an ex parte contact with a juror is a threat, bribe, or statement containing prejudicial information made directly to a juror by a third party stranger. 67 The situation before us differs in notable respects from this paradigm. First, the contact, if it can be called that, was initiated by an intimate relation of a juror, rather than by a third party stranger. Second, direct contact was limited solely to the girlfriend and her boyfriend juror; the other affected jurors only learned indirectly of the situation through the boyfriend. Third, the contact involved only subjective expressions of fear, rather than the traditional threat, bribe, or statement containing prejudicial substantive information. These facts raise a real question as to whether this incident is properly governed by the standards that apply to true ex parte contacts. Because the resolution of defendants' allegation does not turn on the answer to this question, however, we will assume without deciding that the standards governing ex parte contacts do apply and that, under Remmer, the girlfriend's conduct raised a presumption of prejudice that shifted the burden to the government to show that the contact was harmless. 68 In an effort to avoid the ensuing burden were we to apply such a presumption, the government states in a footnote in its brief that the Supreme Court abandoned Remmer 's presumption of prejudice standard in Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 102 S.Ct. 940, 71 L.Ed.2d 78 (1982), and Rushen v. Spain, 464 U.S. 114, 104 S.Ct. 453, 78 L.Ed.2d 267 (1983), and instead placed the burden on the defendant to establish actual prejudice. See Brief for the Government at 91 n. 106. Although the government is careful to cite the two circuit opinions that have accepted, in whole or in part, this abandonment theory, see United States v. Madrid, 842 F.2d 1090 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 109 S.Ct. 269, 102 L.Ed.2d 256 (1988); United States v. Pennell, 737 F.2d 521 (6th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1158, 105 S.Ct. 906, 83 L.Ed.2d 921 (1985), it neglects to cite to any of the many circuit opinions that resoundingly have rejected this abandonment theory. See, e.g., Stockton v. Virginia, 852 F.2d 740, 744 (4th Cir.1988), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 109 S.Ct. 1354, 103 L.Ed.2d 822 (1989); United States v. Butler, 822 F.2d 1191, 1195 n. 2 (D.C.Cir.1987) (listing the Sixth Circuit as the only circuit court that has accepted the abandonment theory, and citing the Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits as continuing to apply Remmer ); United States v. Littlefield, 752 F.2d 1429, 1431-32 (9th Cir.1985); see also United States v. Hornung, 848 F.2d 1040, 1044 (10th Cir.1988), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 109 S.Ct. 1349, 103 L.Ed.2d 817 (1989); United States v. Caporale, 806 F.2d 1487, 1503 (11th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 483 U.S. 1021, 107 S.Ct. 3265, 97 L.Ed.2d 763 (1987); United States v. Robinson, 756 F.2d 56, 59 (8th Cir.1985). 69 Because we find that the government has made an adequate showing to overcome any presumption of prejudice, however, we have no occasion to decide today whether the girlfriend's conduct triggers a Remmer-type presumption. In reaching this determination, we have found several factors regarding the incident to have dispositive significance. First, the girlfriend's conduct did not provide any juror, either directly or indirectly, with substantive extra-judicial information going to the question of defendants' guilt or innocence. Courts frequently examine the nature of the information provided through a challenged ex parte contact and are more likely to deem the contact harmless if the content of the communication does not pertain to substantive matters involved in the trial. See, e.g., Butler, 822 F.2d at 1196; Sher v. Stoughton, 666 F.2d 791, 794-95 (2d Cir.1981). This refutes the defendants' claims of prejudice, because the girlfriend's conduct merely involved her own subjective expressions of fear, rather than furnishing any information touching upon substantive matters at issue in the trial. 70 Second, we note with approval the immediate and thorough steps taken by the district court to ascertain the extent of any juror prejudice. The trial court quickly excused the juror whose girlfriend expressed the fear. The court also thoroughly questioned the three jurors who indirectly learned of the girlfriend's fears to determine whether their impartiality had been compromised. These jurors assured the court that their impartiality had not been affected and that they would base their deliberations solely on the evidence introduced at trial. 71 We can find no fault with the actions taken by the district court and his decision to retain the three jurors in light of their assurances of impartiality. Substantial deference is due the trial court's exercise of its discretion in handling situations involving potential juror bias or misconduct. See, e.g., United States v. Aiello, 771 F.2d 621, 629 (2d Cir.1985); United States v. Webster, 750 F.2d 307, 338 (5th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1106, 105 S.Ct. 2340, 85 L.Ed.2d 855 (1985); United States v. Kelly, 722 F.2d 873, 881 (1st Cir.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1070, 104 S.Ct. 1425, 79 L.Ed.2d 749 (1984). Because the trial court's determination regarding continued juror impartiality is a question of fact, this enhances the deference due its ultimate finding on the issue. See, e.g., Rushen v. Spain, 464 U.S. 114, 120, 104 S.Ct. 453, 456, 78 L.Ed.2d 267 (1983); Aiello, 771 F.2d at 630; United States v. Williams, 737 F.2d 594, 612 (7th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1003, 105 S.Ct. 1354, 84 L.Ed.2d 377 (1985). 72 Here, the trial court was persuaded of the three jurors' continued impartiality after individually questioning each one. He properly could rely on their assurances of impartiality, given in response to his questions. See, e.g., Aiello, 771 F.2d at 630; Williams, 737 F.2d at 612; Sher, 666 F.2d at 795. We cannot say the court erred in declining to dismiss the three jurors challenged by the defendants.