Opinion ID: 1209976
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Alleged Bailiff Misconduct.

Text: Pratt contends that the bailiff failed to keep the jurors free of external communications and made some statements to jurors regarding the deliberations. In Rueth v. State, 100 Idaho 203, 596 P.2d 75 (1978), appeal after remand, 103 Idaho 74, 644 P.2d 1333 (1982), this Court set forth a four step process for analyzing a trial court's communications with a jury outside the courtroom and off the record: (1) It is for the losing party, in the first instance, to show that there was some communication off the record and not in open court. (2) The burden then shifts to the winning party to show what the communication was. If [the winning party] cannot show what it was, the verdict must be set aside. (3) If [the winning party] can show what the communication was but it appears to have been of such a character that it may have affected the jury, then the verdict must be set aside. (4) Only if it is made clearly to appear that the communication could not have had any effect, can the verdict be allowed to stand. Rueth, 100 Idaho at 209, 596 P.2d at 81 (emphasis in original). [11] The trial court ruled that Pratt failed to satisfy the first prong of the Rueth analysis. In this regard, the court pointed to conflicting, inconclusive, and uncorroborated testimony from the jurors and the bailiff. Specifically, the court stated that the testimony of juror Patricia Nelson did not establish that the case was discussed in front of alternate jurors, that the jury foreman denied bringing a newspaper into the jury room during deliberations, that the juror who testified that the bailiff made a comment concerning getting something done in fifteen minutes did not say that the remark was directed at him or place the remark in the full context of the conversation, and that there was no testimony concerning the contents of some documents that one of the jurors allegedly examined on the bench and at defense counsel's table. In addition, the bailiff testified that he did not recall discussing the Pratt brothers' involvement in the Christopher Boyce bank robberies in front of any of the jurors. The trial court weighed all of the testimony and ruled that the preponderance of the evidence did not support Pratt's arguments. Our review satisfies us that substantial and competent evidence supports the trial court's findings. In other words, Pratt did not establish that there was a communication off the record. Thus, we hold that the first prong of the Rueth analysis has not been met by Pratt.