Opinion ID: 1798961
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Questioning During Voir Dire.

Text: Appellants contend that the court erred by refusing to permit inquiry on voir dire into jurors' interest in the Travelers Insurance Company. There was no error in this refusal. The insurance company was not a party so ordinary policyholders or shareholders would not know of any interest they might have in the case. Names of officers and directors can be obtained in the office of the commissioner of insurance. An inquiry into the occupations and places of employment of jurors would have disclosed whether any were agents or employees of the insurance company in question. Given these factors, and in the absence of any good-faith showing that appellants had good reason to believe a member of the panel had a financial interest in the insurance company that might disqualify him, it would have been improper to interject insurance into the case during the voir dire. [15] By the Court. Judgment affirmed. HEFFERNAN, J. ( dissenting ). I would reverse in the interests of justice pursuant to the discretionary power granted to this court by sec. 251.09, Stats. Two factors combine to lead me to this conclusion. In the first place, the damages for personal injuries that were awarded to this child were acknowledged by the trial judge to be small. I believe them to be so low as to be indicative of possible prejudice or perversity. While under the ordinary circumstance, this would be a matter that I would leave strictly to the jury, in this case these low damages are coupled with an inadequate instruction in regard to comparative negligence. My brethren agree that the court's instruction that the jurors may bear in mind the difference in the standards required of a child as contrasted to an adult was erroneous. The instruction ought to have positively stated that the jury should bear in mind those differences. Nonetheless, the majority concludes that these instructions, though erroneous, were not prejudicial. I would agree if there had not been evidence of prejudice in the award of damages. Bearing in mind the combination of these circumstances: The extremely low verdict and an erroneous instruction, it is my opinion that justice has not been done, that issues were not properly considered by the jurors, and I would, therefore, reverse in the interests of justice, with the direction that a new trial be ordered.