Opinion ID: 2314882
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: A: The Reinstruction

Text: At about 4:30 p.m. on the day before the jury's verdict and after two and one half days of jury deliberation, the trial court reconvened, with appellant continually in presence, to consider three questions posed in a jury note, including a question about the meaning of the beyond a reasonable doubt standard. [14] After a discussion between both counsel and the trial judge, the court determined to reread the relevant portions of the instructions to the jury. Appellant's counsel explicitly made no objection to the rereading, but did suggest that it take place the next morning. Since it was approaching time for the evening recess anyway, the trial court agreed to give the reinstruction the next day; thus, after the jury returned, and still in appellant's presence, the trial court excused the jury until the next morning. At 9:15 the next morning, since appellant was absent due to the government's transportation delay, appellant's counsel decided to waive appellant's presence for him so the judge could move things along. The judge promised to give a cautionary instruction that appellant was absent because of travel conditions, which he later forgot to give when he actually reinstructed the jury. [15] Defense counsel neither objected nor restated a demand for the cautionary statement, however. Later that morning, the jury reached its verdict, and appellant was present by the time the verdict was returned.