Opinion ID: 628983
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Premature Jury Deliberations as Juror Misconduct--General

Text: Principles 21 It is a generally accepted principle of trial administration that jurors must not engage in discussions of a case before they have heard both the evidence and the court's legal instructions and have begun formally deliberating as a collective body. Although we have been unable to locate the origins of this rule, it is now firmly established in practice in federal court, as well as in most, if not all, state courts. Accordingly, the practice has developed that trial judges admonish juries at the outset of trial not to discuss the case with anyone before the conclusion of the trial. See, e.g., United States v. Wiesner, 789 F.2d 1264, 1269 n. 3 (7th Cir.1986) (Admonishing the jury [regarding premature deliberations] is a critical and important duty and cannot be over-emphasized.); United States v. Lemus, 542 F.2d 222, 224 (4th Cir.1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 947, 97 S.Ct. 1584, 51 L.Ed.2d 794 (1977); State v. Joyner, 289 S.C. 436, 346 S.E.2d 711 (1986); Commonwealth v. Kerpan, 508 Pa. 418, 498 A.2d 829 (1985); People v. Feldman, 87 Mich.App. 157, 274 N.W.2d 1 (1978); Lillian B. Hardwick & B. Lee Ware, Juror Misconduct Sec. 7.04, at 7-27 (1988); 2 Charles A. Wright, Federal Practice & Procedure Sec. 486, at 718 (2d ed. 1982); 1 Edward J. Devitt & Charles B. Blackmar, Federal Jury Practice & Instructions Sec. 5.07, at 127 (1977); 3 89 C.J.S. Trial, Sec. 460 (1955). But see United States v. Viale, 312 F.2d 595, 602 (2d Cir.) (holding that while it is the practice of most judges to admonish the jury regarding premature deliberations, this admonition is not required), cert. denied, 373 U.S. 903, 83 S.Ct. 1291, 10 L.Ed.2d 199 (1963); United States v. Carter, 430 F.2d 1278, 1279-80 (10th Cir.1970) (holding that failure to give the admonition in a two-day trial was not plain error). 22 There are a number of reasons for this prohibition on premature deliberations in a criminal case. See generally Lillian B. Hardwick & B. Lee Ware, Juror Misconduct Sec. 7.04, at 7-27 (1988). First, since the prosecution presents its evidence first, any premature discussions are likely to occur before the defendant has a chance to present all of his or her evidence, and it is likely that any initial opinions formed by the jurors, which will likely influence other jurors, will be unfavorable to the defendant for this reason. See Commonwealth v. Kerpan, 508 Pa. 418, 498 A.2d 829 (1985). Second, once a juror expresses his or her views in the presence of other jurors, he or she is likely to continue to adhere to that opinion and to pay greater attention to evidence presented that comports with that opinion. Consequently, the mere act of openly expressing his or her views may tend to cause the juror to approach the case with less than a fully open mind and to adhere to the publicly expressed viewpoint. See Winebrenner v. United States, 147 F.2d 322, 328 (8th Cir.1945); State v. Joyner, 289 S.C. 436, 346 S.E.2d 711, 712 (1986). 23 Third, the jury system is meant to involve decisionmaking as a collective, deliberative process and premature discussions among individual jurors may thwart that goal. See Winebrenner, 147 F.2d at 329; Kerpan, 498 A.2d at 831. Fourth, because the court provides the jury with legal instructions only after all the evidence has been presented, jurors who engage in premature deliberations do so without the benefit of the court's instructions on the reasonable doubt standard. See Winebrenner, 147 F.2d at 327. Fifth, if premature deliberations occur before the defendant has had an opportunity to present all of his or her evidence (as occurred here) and jurors form premature conclusions about the case, the burden of proof will have been, in effect, shifted from the government to the defendant, who has the burden of changing by evidence the opinion thus formed. Id. at 328. 24 Finally, requiring the jury to refrain from prematurely discussing the case with fellow jurors in a criminal case helps protect a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial as well as his or her due process right to place the burden on the government to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. See In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 1072, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970). 25 Despite the importance of the prohibition against all premature discussions, there is a clear doctrinal distinction between evidence of improper intra-jury communications and extra-jury influences. It is well-established that the latter pose a far more serious threat to the defendant's right to be tried by an impartial jury. See, e.g., Tanner v. United States, 483 U.S. 107, 117-21, 107 S.Ct. 2739, 2746-48, 97 L.Ed.2d 90 (1987); Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 102 S.Ct. 940, 71 L.Ed.2d 78 (1982); Remmer v. United States, 347 U.S. 227, 228-30, 74 S.Ct. 450, 450-52, 98 L.Ed. 654 (1954); Mattox v. United States, 146 U.S. 140, 149, 13 S.Ct. 50, 53, 36 L.Ed. 917 (1892); Government of V.I. v. Gereau, 523 F.2d 140 (3d Cir.1975), cert. denied, 424 U.S. 917, 96 S.Ct. 1119, 47 L.Ed.2d 323 (1976); Fed.R.Evid. 606(b) (juror may only testify post-verdict on the question whether extraneous influence was brought to bear on jurors). It has long been recognized that when jurors are influenced by the media and other publicity, or when they engage in communications with third parties, these extra-record influences pose a substantial threat to the fairness of the criminal proceeding because the extraneous information completely evades the safeguards of the judicial process. In contrast, when there are premature deliberations among jurors with no allegations of external influence on the jury, the proper process for jury decisionmaking has been violated, but there is no reason to doubt that the jury based its ultimate decision only on evidence formally presented at trial. 26 Moreover, the trial judge has discretion, both in cases involving intra- and extra-jury misconduct, to decide how to deal with a situation in which there is an allegation of jury misconduct, including premature jury deliberations. See Government of V.I. v. Dowling, 814 F.2d 134, 137-38 (3d Cir.1987) (recognizing discretion of district court regarding method for addressing allegations of extraneous influence on the jury). This discretion extends to the determination of whether prejudice has been demonstrated. See United States v. Clapps, 732 F.2d 1148, 1152 (3d Cir.1984); United States v. Pantone, 609 F.2d 675, 679 (3d Cir.1979). Accord United States v. Ortiz-Arrigoitia, 996 F.2d 436 (1st Cir.1993); United States v. Chiantese, 582 F.2d 974, 978, 980 (5th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 441 U.S. 922, 99 S.Ct. 2030, 60 L.Ed.2d 395 (1979). As we have explained, [t]he trial court is obviously in a better position (than the appellate court) to observe the impact of premature jury discussions of guilt, and to make a considered judgement as to the effectiveness of a cautionary instruction. Pantone, 609 F.2d at 679. Moreover, the trial court is in a superior position to observe the mood at trial and the predilections of the jury. Chiantese, 582 F.2d at 980.