Court Opinion

ID: 9576815
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:28:38.800423+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:16:56.400380
License: Public Domain

Justice Martin
concurring.
I concur fully with the well-written opinion of Justice Whichard and write only to express my views with respect to the incident of the jurors taking notes of the trial judge’s instructions. In response to a question by the jury, the trial judge read further instructions to the jury, after which counsel approached the bench. Both counsel objected to the jurors having taken notes during these instructions. Thereafter, the trial judge told the jurors to put away any notes they had made and that they should not refer to them during their deliberations.
The cause of this incident is N.C.G.S. § 15A-1228:
Jurors may make notes and take them into the jury room during their deliberations. Upon objection of any party, the judge must instruct the jurors that notes may not be taken.
Were the constitutionality of this statute before us, serious question would arise as to whether it is unconstitutional both as a violation of separation of powers and as an unconstitutional delegation to parties to litigation of the authority of the court to control the trial of cases.
The statute does not establish a rule of practice or procedure but purports to control how the trial judge should carry out his duty in the trial of cases. It is very much like a rule that court should open, recess, and close at definite times each day. The internal, day-to-day operation of the courts and trial of cases is best left to the judges, not the legislature.
Since 1874, this Court has held that it is proper, and often commendable, for jurors to make notes of the evidence. Cowles v. Hayes, 71 N.C. 230 (1874). In State v. Shedd, 274 N.C. 95, 161 S.E. 2d 477 (1968), we wrote that the general authority in the United States is that the making and use of trial notes by the jury is not misconduct but is proper, and may even be desirable. In State v. Goldberg, 261 N.C. 181, 134 S.E. 2d 334, cert. denied, 337 U.S. 978, 12 L.Ed. 2d 747 (1964), this Court approved the trial judge’s giving note pads and pencils to the jury for note-taking. See Juror Note Taking & Conduct, 47 N.C.L. Rev. 511 (1969).
*444The above decisions of this Court clearly hold that the trial court has the power to control the taking of notes by the jury. The statute purports to delegate this authority to the parties in the case. Under the statute, if any party objects the jurors may not take notes even though the trial judge might think that they should, as in Goldberg. I find this delegation of control over the trial of cases to the parties (in practice, their counsel) may conflict with article IV, section 1 of the Constitution of North Carolina, which invests the judicial power of the state in the General Court of Justice. Parties to lawsuits are not a part of the General Court of Justice. Placing this authority in the hands of parties who are adverse to each other opens the door for counsel to exercise the authority for the benefit of their clients, not in the interest of justice. One party may want the jury to take notes while the other party is opposed to it. The statute clearly gives an unfair veto to the party opposing the taking of notes. Only the trial judge can properly resolve such issues. This power should reside solely in the trial judge, who is unbiased and neutral in the case.
Further, to demonstrate the ineptitude of the statute, what should the trial judge do if the jury has been taking notes and thereafter counsel objects? What should be done with the notes already taken? The statute says that the jurors may take their notes into the jury room during deliberations. The trial judge in this case did not allow the jurors to do so. The statute also creates an unnecessary dichotomy in the trial of civil and criminal cases as it only applies to criminal cases. The statute creates many questions but resolves none.