Opinion ID: 516902
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: motions for severance, for removal of juror, and for new trial

Text: 13 During the jury deliberations, juror Bryant told the district court that she had been followed home by a man she had earlier seen speaking to appellant Jones. The man inquired about the jury deliberations, adding that he would give anything for such information; juror Bryant did not respond. The district court conducted a hearing in which it questioned each of the jurors individually regarding the extent of their knowledge of this incident and its effect on their impartiality. Each of the jurors, including Bryant, indicated that the incident would not affect his or her ability to remain impartial as to each of the appellants. Jones then moved to have juror Bryant removed; Fafowora and Bullock moved for severance of Jones from their respective cases. Relying on the jurors' testimony regarding their impartiality, the district court denied the motion to excuse juror Bryant as well as the motions for severance. The court subsequently denied all three appellants' motions for new trial. 14 The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to trial by an impartial jury in all criminal prosecutions, and any private communication to a juror during trial is presumptively prejudicial. Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227, 229, 74 S.Ct. 450, 451, 98 L.Ed. 654 (1954). The district court must hold a hearing to question the jurors and, thereby, to ascertain the effect of such communications. On appeal, this court must defer to the district court's appraisal of prejudice unless it is manifestly unreasonable. Hobson v. Wilson, 737 F.2d 1, 49 (D.C.Cir.1984) (quoting Miller v. United States, 403 F.2d 77, 84 n. 11 (2d Cir.1968)). See United States v. Butler, 822 F.2d 1191, 1196 (D.C.Cir.1987) (summarizing circuit law on jury tampering). 15 The district court here followed the requisite hearing procedures in exemplary fashion. Unlike the trial court in Owen v. Duckworth, 727 F.2d 643, 647 (7th Cir.1984), the primary authority on which appellants rely, the district court did not disregard testimony suggesting prejudice. Accordingly, we cannot say that its conclusion as to the absence of prejudice is an unreasonable one.