Opinion ID: 1742893
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: New trialimproper contact between trial judge and jurors

Text: For his final point on appeal, Oliver asserts that jury misconduct, of which his attorney was unaware until after the jury had returned its verdict, prejudiced his chances for a fair trial. Following his judgment and commitment on June 28, 1993, Oliver filed a motion for new trial on July 23, 1993. Attached to this motion were the affidavits of Sherrel Hibbs and Kimberly Hill, each of whom had testified on Oliver's behalf at trial. According to Hibbs, during a trial lunch break on June 24, 1993, she was seated at a restaurant with Oliver's aunt, Kim Hill, and his mother and step-father, Linda and Jack Echols, when she overheard a conversation between the trial judge, Honorable Ted Capeheart, his court reporter, Pat Motes, and a Texarkana Gazette reporter. According to Hibbs, the trial judge stated to the court reporter and the newspaper reporter, I fined her, to which the court reporter replied, But she was late, judge. The trial judge then mentioned something about a photograph of Charlene Friend with her throat cut. Seated at an adjacent table were two jurors and an unidentified woman. Also seated at a table to the left of the trial judge's table were three other jurors and an unidentified person. One of the jurors responded to the trial judge's comment about the photograph, stating, But it's circumstantial, judge. At this point, according to Hibbs, everyone in the whole area began laughing. She and Oliver's family then left the restaurant. Hill's affidavit related similar information. The record reflects the trial judge, by letter dated August 9, 1993, set the motion for hearing on September 13, 1993. Also included in the record are subpoenas issued by the circuit clerk's office on September 8 and 10, for the following witnesses to appear for the September 13 hearing: Carolyn Smith, juror James Best, court reporter Pat Waldrop, affiant Sherrel Hibbs, affiant Kimberly Hill, and James Bischof of the Texarkana Gazette. The record also contains an order from the trial judge commanding the Sevier County Sheriff's Office to pick up Oliver from the Department of Correction for the purpose of the September 13 hearing. On September 10, 1993, Oliver filed amended and second amended motions for new trial. The record does not indicate whether the September 13 hearing was ever held. Oliver filed a timely notice of appeal on September 15, 1993, as the amended motions related back to the date of filing the original motion. See Williams v. Hudson, 320 Ark. 635, 898 S.W.2d 465 (1995). Oliver asserts, as he did in his new trial motion, that his case falls under an exception to the general rule that errors raised for the first time on appeal will not be considered. In support of his argument, he cites Hughes v. State, 295 Ark. 121, 746 S.W.2d 557 (1988). As reviewed in Hughes , the very narrow exceptions to this court's general rule that it will not consider errors raised for the first time on appeal were set out in Wicks v. State, 270 Ark. 781, 606 S.W.2d 366 (1980). They are: (1) deathpenalty cases where prejudice is conclusively shown by the record and the court would unquestionably require the trial court to grant relief under Rule 37; (2) where error is made by the trial judge without knowledge of defense counsel; (3) where the trial court should intervene on its own motion to correct a serious error; and (4) where evidential errors affect a defendant's substantial rights although they were not brought to the court's attention. Oliver maintains the second exception applies in this instance. Additionally, we require that a claim of jury misconduct raised for the first time in a motion for new trial be accompanied by an affirmative showing that the defense was unaware of the misconduct until after the trial. See Hendrix v. State, 298 Ark. 568, 768 S.W.2d 546 (1989). While Oliver's attorney submitted an affidavit with the motion for new trial, the affidavit related to the issue of whether the trial court erred in refusing to reopen the Denno hearing. She did not state in the affidavit when she first learned of the alleged improper conduct of the trial judge and certain jurors. However, in the motion for new trial, Oliver does assert that his attorney was unaware of the misconduct until after the jury had returned its verdict, and thus had no opportunity to file an objection with the trial court. Suffice it to say, it would have been highly improper for the trial judge and jurors to have engaged in such discussions. However, mere allegations contained within pleadings are not evidence from which we can determine whether error occurred. Munnerlyn v. State, 292 Ark. 467, 730 S.W.2d 895 (1987). While Oliver asserts in his brief that no hearing was ever held, we cannot determine from the record before us whether the scheduled hearing took place or not. If the hearing did not take place, then why not? These significant questions have no answers in the record. As the moving party, it was Oliver's burden to obtain a ruling on his motion for new trial. See Aaron v. State, 319 Ark. 320, 891 S.W.2d 364 (1995). He did not. Under these circumstances, we cannot reach the merits of Oliver's argument.