Court Opinion

ID: 9718686
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 07:30:13.14297+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:01.591556
License: Public Domain

BEN Z. GRANT, Justice,
concurring.
I concur; however, I must express concern about Rule 606(b) of the Texas Rules of Evidence. I urge the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to examine the broad language of this rule in light of the possible consequences. This rule could undermine court procedures and render the jury verdicts and deliberations a mockery. It prohibits jurors from testifying about anything except outside influences that affected their decision. If, for example, a juror threatened or held a gun to another juror’s head to compel his or her decision, this could not be testified to in the courtroom. If, for example, a juror forged the name of other jurors to the verdict, this could not be testified to in the courtroom. If, for example, the foreperson violated all of the procedural instructions provided by the judge during deliberations, this could not be testified to in open court.
I understand the need to make verdicts final and the need not to open up the testimony to what might have been each juror’s mental processes, but matters affecting the fundamental process of jury deliberation should not be forever closed to judicial review. In the present case, if the jury foreman refused to allow a juror to change his vote prior to the jury returning its verdict to the court, this should be a matter that could be considered by the court.