179 Iowa 485 | Iowa | 1917
“Foreman
“H. A. Borger.”
Thereupon, the plaintiff moved for new trial, stating 7 grounds. Among these were that the verdict was not the result of a fair and impartial consideration of the evidence; was not responsive to the testimony; was the result of passion and prejudice; that the jury was guilty of misconduct and, as shown by the verdict, did not comprehend and understand the evidence. Two forms of verdict had been submitted, and the court had instructed the jury:
“If you find for plaintiff, use form of verdict No. 1, writing in the amount ivhich you find he is entitled to recover; if you find for defendant, use form of verdict No. 2; and the verdict agreed upon have your foreman sign and return into court herewith.”
The jury used form of verdict No. 2, first inserting therein “Not guilty.” It appears from the affidavits attached to the motion that counsel for defendant argued strenuously to the jury that to find for the plaintiff would be equivalent to convicting defendant of murder, and it is suggested that this accounts for the pains taken by the jury to amend the form of verdict thought sufficient by the trial court. It should also be said that a verdict was returned
“If you attorneys ivant to argue the question of the necessity of the jury paying some attention to the instructions of the court, you may do so. The court knows what time the jury retired to consider their verdict, and that was practically six o’clock, and within a little more than an hour after they had retired, they having gone to supper in the meantime, the clerk was notified that they had agreed, and he hunted up the court and notified the court that they had agreed upon their verdict. According to the bailiff’s testimony, they had not signed the verdict, and some of them did not know that they had to. When they did sign it, instead of the foreman signing on the line as directed by the court for him to sign, they wrote in the words ‘not guilty,’ and some member of the jury signed it below. Unless you can argue the court out of the proposition that the jury should at least read the instructions, and when the last instruction tells them plainly where they should sign the verdict, and they do not regard that, and they bring in a verdict as soon as they can, in this case, the court is of the opinion that the parties should have a new trial.”
After argument, the court continued:
“The only reason that the court has for setting aside
On suggestion by counsel for defendant that it should not be xmled that the jury should stay out any particular time, the court responded:
“You are begging the question. I do not put it upon the ground that the jury should stay out any certain length of time, but I do put it upon the ground that they should pay some attention to the instructions of the court, and that they did not is indicated by the fact that they signed the verdict as they did, and by the fact that they did not sign it as they had been told in the last paragraph of the instructions.”
What the court said in making the ruling shows beyond question that it rested its ruling on the conclusion that the jury failed to give the case proper consideration. Surely they were bent on letting defendant know they did not regard him as guilty of murder! They were not deterred from amending the form of verdict even though this involved disregarding the instructions of the court. Though specifically instructed by the court that the foreman sign the verdict, they were not ready to comply until the bailiff had concurred ! Though the ruling was based on what actually happened, the court was not required to close its eyes to the course of the trial, the atmosphere surrounding it, the ap