Opinion ID: 2165690
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Defendants' Motion to Pass the Cases

Text: These suits were marked by two unusual occurrences involving the jury. During one of the trial recesses, counsel for one of defendants observed the foreman of the jury talking to Lieutenant Shannon and brought this fact to the trial justice's attention. The foreman was excused from further service on the panel. Later that same day at the noon hour recess, defense counsel saw the now ex-foreman talking with two or three members of the jury. Counsel then notified the trial judge of this fact and moved that the cases be passed. The judge summoned the former member of the jury to his chambers and talked to him in the absence of the litigants' attorneys. The court was then reconvened and the former foreman took the witness stand and testified that while he did indeed talk to three of his former colleagues, his conversation had nothing whatever to do with the case. The trial judge stated that he believed the witness and denied defendants' motion. The defendants take strong exception to the conference being held in chambers between the court and the witness in the absence of their attorneys. While we think that it would have been much better if counsel for all the parties had been in attendance when the court talked to the discharged juryman, we can see no wrong having been done to defendants. The trial justice afforded defense counsel an unlimited opportunity to examine the former juror when he assumed the witness stand. He did answer certain inquiries made of him by counsel. Though we may not commend the type of conference disclosed here, we find nothing whatever which shows that defendants' rights were prejudiced in any manner. The handling of the extraordinary events which may occur in the course of a trial is a matter left to the sound discretion of the trial judge and the manner in which he resolves such matters will not be disturbed unless we find a patent abuse of his discretion. There is no such an abuse present in these appeals.