Opinion ID: 1476684
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Juror contact with reporter and ex-public defender

Text: On February 29, 1996, before counsels' summations to the jury, the court placed on the record, in the presence of counsel, defendant, and the jury, that the sergeant-at-arms had informed him that some jurors had reported receiving a phone call at home from a newspaper reporter. The court stated: Sergeant Petro informs the Court that some of you have informed him that you received a telephone call of inquiry from a newspaper reporter. The Court has spoken with the reporter. You should know this, that the reporter who called you is new to courthouse coverage. She was unaware of the rules that govern. She apologizes for contacting you. The Court has been informed that no one discussed anything with the reporter. The reporter informed this Court that all of you were polite, that is, all of you who were contacted, and all of you declined to make any comment. Please understand that it was a simple misunderstanding on the reporter's part, and that it just grew out of a lack of experience. At the conclusion of the trial, the Court will discuss with you media contact, but for the moment I think we've covered what has occurred in the past day or so. The referenced meeting between the court and the reporter happened in camera and not on the record. There is no documentation of the reporter's name or employer. In fact, it is unclear whether counsel was present at the meeting between the court and the reporter. At the PCR hearing, defendant's counsel stated that, according to trial counsels' notes, neither Call nor Scully learned of the reporter's calls until the trial court spoke about it in the presence of the jury. When PCR counsel spoke with trial counsel privately before the PCR hearing, neither Call nor Scully recalled the reporter's contact with jurors. Michael Priarone, defendant's PCR counsel, submitted an affidavit stating that he tried to ascertain the reporter's identity, but could not. In addition to speaking with Call and Scully, Priarone interviewed Prosecutor Zarling, and contacted the Trentonian, Trenton Times, and Channel 12. No one was aware of a reporter who called jurors. There is no record on whether Priarone tried to contact the trial court. Priarone asked Investigator Dolan from the Public Defender's Office to interview Sergeant Petro. Petro told Dolan that he did not know who the reporter was, but did recall Audrey Bomse, a former staff attorney for the Public Defender, talking with jurors during trial. The record reveals that at the time of defendant's trial, Bomse had a suit pending against the Public Defender regarding her discharge from that office. Petro explained that Bomse used her former Public Defender ID card to enter the Mercer County Jail on the day she was seen talking with jurors. She was attempting to interview inmates regarding Harris's case; however, Sheriff's personnel discovered that Bomse was working in North Jersey as a legal aide and not the Public Defender at that time, and removed her from the prison. The State reports that in March 2002, an assistant prosecutor from Mercer County and a Sergeant Dispoto interviewed Petro about defendant's case. Reportedly, Petro indicated that he did not witness any ... communication between Bomse and the jurors during defendant's trial. In fact, Petro denied ever telling Investigator Dolan of such an incident. Defendant's PCR counsel moved for post-verdict interviews of jurors regarding their contact with the newspaper reporter and Bomse. Counsel requested that the PCR court hear related testimony from the trial court, Bomse, Petro, Dolan, Call, Scully, and the prosecutors. The PCR court denied both the request to hear testimony and to conduct post-verdict interviews of the jurors.