Court Opinion

ID: 9726496
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 12:53:27.390722+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:27.792890
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE SCHAEFER, dissenting: In my opinion a jury’s request to have the testimony of certain witnesses read to it should be determined in accordance with the American Bar Association Minimum Standards, Trial by Jury, section 5.2(a), which states: “Whenever the jury’s request is reasonable, the court, after notice to the prosecutor and counsel for the defense, shall have the requested parts of the testimony read to the jury and shall permit the jury to reexamine the requested materials admitted into evidence.” The discretion that is to be exercised under this standard does not permit the judge to overrule the jury’s determination as to what will be helpful to it. As the Commentary to the standard points out: “This gives the trial judge some leeway to bar review of specific matters which may somehow have been received into evidence but which in fact do not bear upon any of the issues which the jury must decide. But, the court must grant the jury’s request to review certain evidence when that evidence directly relates to an issue before the jury. The failure of the court to do so has been held to be an abuse of discretion in several cases. See, e.g., United States v. Jackson, 257 F.2d 41 (3d Cir. 1958) (narcotics prosecution, entrapment defense, refusal to read testimony on whether informant was a government employee); LaMonte v. State, 145 So. 2d 889 (Fla. App. 1962) (refusal to read testimony as to place where mask used in robbery was found); Granstaff v. State, 163 Tenn. 623, 45 S.W.2d 527 (1932) (refusal to read testimony in assault prosecution regarding words of provocation uttered by victim); State v. Wolf, 44 N.J. 176, 207 A.2d 670 (1965) (refusal to read testimony regarding contents of two letters written by defendant’s alleged accomplice).”