Court Opinion

ID: 9551275
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:50:31.588963+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:23:25.682516
License: Public Domain

*432CROCKETT, Justice
(dissenting).
It is my opinion that there was no prejudicial error justifying the overturning of the jury verdict and the reversal of the judgment. I make no argument for perfection in the instructions. They may be somewhat wordy, and overlapping in parts. Nevertheless the jury were properly instructed that they should not single out and place emphasis on any particular instruction, but should consider all of them together. We should assume that they honored their oaths and did so. In so reading them it is my impression that the jury would understand what I regard to be the correct measure of duty of both the defendant landlord and the plaintiff: to exercise the degree of care that an ordinary reasonable and prudent person would exercise under all of the existing circumstances as shown by the evidence, and that this included the duty of a landlord to guests as related to the vagaries of winter weather.
The judgments of courts and the verdicts of juries, arrived at after all of the procedures up to and including formal trial, should have a high degree of solidarity and respect. This is essential to serve their purpose of preserving the good order of society. To whatever degree such verdicts and judgments can be overturned for anything less than substantial causes, to that same degree the total structure of law and justice is undermined and its ability to fulfill that purpose is impaired. For this reason among others, I do not think the cause of justice is well served by over techical post-mortem reviews or reversals. In the course of a trial in which human imperfections must play some part, it is too much to expect that a trial of any length could take place without some things occurring short of perfection, and which to the losing party, may seem blamable for his failure to prevail.
Consonant with the foregoing, the question to be determined should not be, merely whether there may be some minor discrepancy or inconsistency in the instructions, nor whether some matter of fact or principle of law could have been more clearly or more aptly stated. It should be whether consideration of the instructions as a whole would provide the jurors with a reasonable and practical basis for understanding the issues of fact and the principles of law upon which they should make their determination. If that objective is accomplished, and the parties had an opportunity to fully and fairly present their evidence and arguments upon the issues, the verdict of the jui-y should not be disturbed unless it is shown not only that there was error, but that it was substantial and prejudicial in the sense that there is a reasonable likelihood that the result would have been different in the absence of the error. Mea*433sured in the light of what I have said above, I do not believe that the reversal of the judgment is justified.
ELLETT, J., concurs in the dissenting opinion of CROCKETT, J.