Opinion ID: 777088
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to Take Action After Juror Revealed Information

Text: 58 The defendants argue next that the District Court committed reversible error by taking no action in response to juror Baker's in camera remarks. We disagree. 59 The process of empaneling a jury is firmly entrusted to the sound discretion of the trial judge and will not be disturbed absent an abuse of this discretion. United States v. Rubin, 37 F.3d 49, 54 (2d Cir.1994). To be sure, a judge who receives important information from a juror should promptly convey that information to the parties and counsel. See United States v. Aiello, 771 F.2d 621, 629 (2d Cir.1985) (a judge who in a private meeting with juror learns of unauthorized outside communication would be well advised to hold a voir dire hearing [u]nless the communication with the juror is patently innocuous); United States v. Taylor, 562 F.2d 1345, 1366 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 432 U.S. 909, 97 S.Ct. 2958, 53 L.Ed.2d 1083 (1977) (There having been no informed consent to [private communications between judge and one juror during jury's deliberations], it was error for the court not to reveal the substance of these communications to counsel for both sides.). 60 Juror Baker's in camera comments, however, could simply not have alerted the court to the nature or significance of Baker's concerns. The court met with approximately thirty jurors, and informed them all that the meetings were solely for the purpose of discussing hardship excuses. When Baker tried to raise other matters, the court told him — correctly — that he should address in open court any matters unrelated to excusal on hardship grounds. Just as it had told counsel it would do, once the court ascertained that Baker did not require an excusal, it ended the meeting and encouraged him to speak at voir dire. Baker, moreover, assured the court that he was satisfied with that solution. 61 Juror Baker's statements at voir dire, in turn, likely satisfied the court that Baker's concerns had been aired. Baker mentioned his familiarity with the case from the newspaper; his experience in the National Guard; the fact that his best friend had died from drug and alcohol abuse; and the fact that he knew several witnesses. These statements appear to have alleviated any concerns the court may have had about Baker's in camera comments. Nothing would have led a trial judge reasonably to suspect anything other than that Baker had disclosed what was on his mind. 62 Our decision is not inconsistent with Taylor, in which we held that it was error for the district court not to reveal the substance of its private communications with a juror. See 562 F.2d at 1366. In Taylor, unlike here, the communications occurred during the jury's deliberations, a stage of the trial in which private communications with a juror clearly violate the right to be present. Id. at 1365; see Smalls v. Batista, 191 F.3d 272, 278 (2d Cir.1999) (It is well recognized that jury deliberations constitute a critical stage of a criminal trial. (internal quotation marks omitted)). We are unwilling to extend Taylor to the situation at bar, in which communications between a judge and a juror occurred during the administrative impanelment process. 63 Here, though the significance of juror Baker's concerns eventually became apparent, the information available to the court at the time of the administrative impanelment could not have led it to believe that the situation would not be resolved at voir dire. We cannot employ hindsight in judging whether the District Court exceeded its allowable discretion. See United States v. Sanchez, 790 F.2d 245, 251 (2d Cir.) (Our review of the district judge's exercise of discretion ... must be based on the relevant circumstances confronting the judge at the time of his ruling, without the benefit of hindsight.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 989, 107 S.Ct. 584, 93 L.Ed.2d 587 (1986). Accordingly, we conclude that the District Court did not exceed its allowable discretion, given what it knew at the time, in deciding not to convey to the parties and counsel what Baker had mentioned.