Opinion ID: 541736
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Criticisms of the Jury's Deliberations

Text: 54 Moon makes two other challenges to the verdict against him. He contends, first, that communications from the jury to the court during deliberations showed that the jury was so confused that a mistrial should have been declared. In addition, he contends that the jury improperly considered medical testimony concerning Boyd's wounds. For the reasons below, we reject both contentions. 55 On the third day of deliberations, the jury sent the court a note asking, Can the jury be undecided on one defendant's guilt or innocence? Upon inquiry by Judge Haight, the jury indicated that it had reached a unanimous verdict as to at least one of the defendants, but that it could not reach a unanimous verdict as to one particular, but unidentified, defendant. Over objection by Parker, the trial judge gave the jurors a modified Allen charge, see Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492, 17 S.Ct. 154, 41 L.Ed. 528 (1896). 56 On the fifth day of deliberations, the court received a note signed by one juror, Vic Ortiz, complaining that [t]he system was not working. Shortly thereafter, an unidentified juror sent out a note requesting that the trial judge speak to all 12 jurors on split verdicts. After consulting with counsel, Judge Haight instructed the jury that it should attempt to reach unanimous verdicts as to each defendant on each count, but that if that were not possible, the jury could return partial verdicts. 57 Later that morning, Ortiz and another juror sent the court notes asking to be excused from the jury. Ortiz's note stated: 58 I wish to be disqualified from this trial because certain jurors are confused as to their duties & obligations as jurors and[ ] they're unable to make sense of what is going on; what has transpired during this trial and they're incapable of understanding the Judge's Instructions which have been given to us in plain English. 59 (Emphasis in original.) Following these notes, defendants moved unsuccessfully for a mistrial. After consulting with counsel, Judge Haight concluded that no cause had been shown for excusing the jurors. He instructed the jury again that it was permissible to reach verdicts as to some defendants and not others, so long as the verdict as to any defendant on a given count was unanimous. We find no error in the court's procedure. 60 It is the responsibility of the trial judge to provide the jury with sufficient instruction to enable it to assess the evidence within the proper legal framework and to reach a rational verdict. The trial judge is in the best position to sense whether the jury is able to proceed properly with its deliberations, and he has considerable discretion in determining how to respond to communications indicating that the jury is experiencing confusion. See, e.g., United States v. Read, 658 F.2d 1225, 1241-42 (7th Cir.1981). Communications indicating an individual juror's disagreement with his fellow jurors and his frustration with the deliberation process neither require that a mistrial be ordered, see id., nor require that the juror be excused, cf. United States v. Casamento, 887 F.2d 1141, 1187 (2d Cir.1989) (court had discretion whether or not to excuse juror whose daughter had received threatening message), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 1138, 107 L.Ed.2d 1043 (1990). Rather, the court has discretion to respond to jury communications, preferably after consultation with counsel, with supplemental instructions designed to remedy the confusion. See, e.g., United States v. Civelli, 883 F.2d 191, 193-94 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 409, 107 L.Ed.2d 374 (1989). 61 We see no flaw in the court's handling of the juror communications in the present case. The communications from individual jurors did not indicate that their authors were incapable of understanding the evidence or the court's instructions or that they were in any other respect incapable of carrying out their responsibilities as jurors. Nor does the record provide any sound basis for inferring that any of the other jurors was incapable of rationally evaluating the evidence or following the court's instructions. The court was well within the bounds of discretion in denying defendants' motion and giving clarifying instructions. 62 Nor is there any merit in Moon's suggestion that the jury's request to rehear medical evidence demonstrates improper consideration of such evidence. The evidence requested by the jury had been admitted without objection; indeed, Moon does not argue even here that the evidence was inadmissible. It was within the discretion of the court to permit the requested testimony to be reread to the jury. See United States v. Damsky, 740 F.2d 134, 138 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 918, 105 S.Ct. 298, 83 L.Ed.2d 233 (1984). 63