Court Opinion

ID: 9457723
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 20:31:01.743428+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:35:28.892938
License: Public Domain

ALDISERT, Circuit Judge
(concurring).
Although I agree with the result reached by the majority, I do not construe its opinion to mean that we are adopting the American Bar Association Standards Relating to Trial by Jury, § 5.2, Jury Request to Review Evidence, as a governing rule of criminal procedure in this Circuit. I am not ready to subscribe to the unrestricted use of this standard. As the majority observes, note 1, supra, the standard is intended to restrict the discretion of the trial judge. I view as unwarranted and undesirable this attempt to dilute a trial judge’s authority.
Although designed to remedy certain abuses of judicial discretion, the mandatory features of this standard are themselves potentially generative of substantial abuses. I can envision trial counsel, in closing arguments, inviting the jury to request a reading of particular portions of the testimony. As a result, individual jurors could satisfy personal whims and attract undue attention to unimportant, collateral, and tangential aspects of a trial’s testimony. Under the A.B.A. standard, the trial court would be virtually helpless to control such abuses.
“In a trial by jury in a federal court, the judge is not a mere moderator, but *1016is the governor of the trial for the purpose of assuring its proper conduct * * Herron v. Southern Pacific Co., 283 U.S. 91, 95, 51 S.Ct. 383, 384, 75 L.Ed.2d 857 (1931). Although acceding to the jury’s request is required “[w]henever the jury’s request is reasonable,” the reality is that this affords the trial judge very little veto power over the requests. The court can determine the reasonableness of the request only by asking the jurors what prompted their action. Such an inquiry, however, would be an improper intrusion by the court into the deliberation process of the fact finders. Domeracki v. Humble Oil & Refining Co., 443 F.2d 1245, 1247 (3d Cir. 1971). Thus, the reality is that, except in obviously flagrant situations, the trial judge, to avoid trial error, would normally accede to the jury’s request, without question, and hence, without any real discretionary power in the matter.
Nevertheless, I would reverse and order a new trial because I find the possibility of prejudicial error to have been present under the peculiar circumstances which developed at trial. The critical issue in Rabb’s case was identification. The court has addressed itself to the problems of eye-witness testimony, and recently has imposed additional safeguards where the guilt or innocense of a defendant turns on identification. United States v. Barber, 442 F.2d 517, 525 (3d Cir. 1971). There, we referred to Justice Brennan’s comment in United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 228, 87 S. Ct. 1926, 1933, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (1967): “The vagaries of eyewitness identification are well-known; the annals of criminal law are rife with instances of mistaken identification.”
The jury request for a rereading of the testimony of two eye-witnesses could hardly be construed as frivolous. The court had two options: to give a fair synopsis of the critical testimony, or to have the testimony read verbatim. It did neither. The summary of the testimony was couched in conclusory expressions and contained no references to (a) inconsistencies in Weber’s critical testimony, relating to the description of Rabb’s clothing, and (b) certain variances between Weber’s and Stoothoff’s description of Rabb’s face covering. Moreover, when the court’s attention was directed to the inadequacy of the synopsis, its attempt at repair was deficient. Because the jury was not given a fair and adequate response to an inquiry addressed to the critical issue of eye-witness identification, the very real possibility of prejudicial error tainted these proceedings.1

. The cross-examination of Weber by Rabb’s attorney:
Q. What was he wearing?
A. I know he had a hat on.
Q. What color ?
A. At this point I cannot remember that.
Q. His eyes were brown, weren’t they?
A. Yes.
Q. All right. AVliat else did be have on?
A. He had on a jacket or turtleneck sweater that was pulled up to over his mouth.
Q. He had what color turtleneck sweater?
A. I didn’t say color.
Q. AVell, would you tell us the color?
A. I would. I think it was gray at this point. Again, I don’t remember that far back. Q. And pulled up over his face?
A. Yes.
Q. And what color jacket did he have on, if he had a jacket on?
A. I could not answer that now.
Q. You didn’t see a jacket?
A. I am not sure if he had a jacket or what color it was at this point.
Q. Fine. Did he have gloves on?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. Pants ?
A. Yes, he had pants on.
Q. AVliat color?
A. Again, X don’t remember the color.
Q. Shoes?
A. I couldn’t tell you what the shoes were.
Q. Couldn’t tell us?
A. No.
*1017Q. What type of material was the mask you do recall on Rabb? Was it a handkerchief or was it his siiirt?
A. I believe it was his shirt — no, wait, excuse me. One of them had what looked like a T-shirt, a white T-shirt that had been — was around his face.
Q. Which one?
A. That was Mr. Rabb, the gentleman in the blue coat.
The cross-examination of Stoothoff:
Q. When they came out of the bank, the second man [Rabb] came out of the bank, did he have anything over his face?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. What did he have?
A. He had a slight bandana up around here (indicating).
Q. A bandana?
A. I would say a bandana.
Q. What color was it?
A. Light color.
Q. Light color?
A. Yes.
Q. Wearing a hat?
A. Yes.
Q. Jacket?
A. No.
Q. No jacket. He had a bandana on and a hat. Shirt?
A. Of course he had a shirt on.
Q. Sweater?
A. I didn’t see no sweater, no.
Summarizing the testimony of witness Weber in response to the jury’s request that it be read, the trial court said :
On cross-examination he stated that he was sure that Rabb was the man and could identify him by his eyes and a part of his nose.
He further stated that he was in a position to see him arid that he gave a description of the clothes that he was wearing on the day of the occasion. You will recall that both he and Martini stated that Rabb had gloves on at the time of the commission of the robbery.
On cross-examination he stated that he was about eight feet from Rabb and twelve feet from Phillips during the robbery. He stated that Rabb had something which looked like a white T-shirt pulled up over his face and that Phillips, if Phillips had a mask on, it was only partially over his mouth.
The testimony of Stoothoff was summarized as follows:
. . . And two Negroes ran from the bank to the car and got in.
. He identified Phillips and Rabb as two of the occupants of the car.
Mr. McGlynn, counsel for Rabb, said: And in addition to that, your Honor has also now told them what Mr. Martini said when you weren’t requested to do so, and that you have failed to tell them that Mr. Stoothoff and Mr. Weber described the clothing on Rabb at variance.
THE COURT: Members of the Jury, may I state to you that there was some variance in Weber’s testimony with, I believe it was Mr. Martini’s testimony with respect to the type clothing that Mr. Rabb was wearing at the time of the alleged robbery.
MR. McGLYNN: May I also say, sir, that according to the notes that I have, which may be incorrect, but according to my notes, Mr. Weber first testified that Mr. Rabb wore a gray turtleneck sweater. Then he testified he wore a T-shirt.
THE COURT: I told them there was a variance.
MR. McGLYNN: Then he wore a bandana.
MR. ELYNN: You see, your Honor, there is a danger in reading notes to a Jury rather than repeating the testimony which probably will take only about a half-an-hour for the Court Reporter.
THE COURT: We just don’t do that.
MR. McGLYNN: Thank you, your Honor.
MR. KOELZER: Thank you.
THE COURT: (addressing the Jurors)
With respect to the clothes that Mr. Rabb was wearing, Mr. Weber said that he had a hat and jacket and turtleneck sweater. He doesn’t remember the color of the sweater, cannot remember the color of the jacket, but that he had gloves on, and could not see the color of his shoes when he asked that.