Opinion ID: 1157966
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: jury deliberation

Text: On the last day of trial, the court dismissed the jury sometime during the morning hours to return home or whatever until 1 p.m. During this recess, the court and counsel prepared the jury instructions. When the jurors returned, the court instructed them, and counsel for both sides presented closing arguments. The record does not disclose when the jury was dismissed to begin deliberations but only that the verdict was returned at 8:50 p.m. that same day. Cabututan argues that because the jury had listened to four days of testimony, it could not have reviewed all of the testimony and evidence in just three hours. Thus, the jurors must have actually begun deliberations during the morning hours when many of them remained in the jury room waiting for court to convene at 1 p.m. There is no support in the record for defendant's assertions. When the jury was dismissed in the morning, the jurors were admonished not to discuss the case until it was submitted to them. We have nothing before us to confirm that any of the jurors remained in the jury room, let alone began discussing the case. We do not presume error; the burden is on defendant to demonstrate it, which he has not done.