Opinion ID: 2598598
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Failure to Swear Jury

Text: [¶ 30] On the afternoon of the second day of trial, it came to the trial court's attention that the jury had not been sworn in accordance with Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-11-107 (LexisNexis 2001), which provides: As soon as the jury is selected an oath or affirmation shall be administered to the jurors providing, in substance, that they and each of them will well and truly try the matter in issue between the state of Wyoming, plaintiff, and the named defendant, and render a true verdict according to the evidence. The trial court excused the jury, informed the parties of what had happened, and recessed early to allow them an opportunity to research the issue and decide how they wished to proceed. When court was reconvened the following morning, defense counsel moved for a mistrial, arguing the statute is mandatory, not permissive, and prejudice to Mr. Urbigkit was inherent. The trial court denied the motion, citing case law holding that error in failing to swear a jury is not reversible in the absence of actual prejudice where the error is discovered and corrected prior to commencement of deliberation. The trial court informed the jury of the error and administered the oath. The trial court also confirmed with the jury the importance of the oath, its duty to follow the court's instructions, and its duty to determine the facts from all the evidence presented and arrive at a verdict free from prejudice. [¶ 31] The question of whether it is reversible error to inadvertently fail to administer the oath to the jury is one of first impression in Wyoming. Under the circumstances presented here, we agree with the holding in People v. Clouse, 859 P.2d 228, 233 (Colo.Ct.App.1992), that the failure to administer the oath constituted harmless error. The mistake was discovered in the afternoon of the second day of a seven-day trial after the testimony of only three of thirty-seven witnesses testifying for the state. As in Clouse, the jury was sworn in long before deliberations, and the jury was informed it was to consider all the evidence presented, both before and after the oath, in the same manner. Finding no prejudice, we uphold the trial court's ruling in this regard.