Butler v. State

Worswick, J.—If

the validity of a verdict is attacked only because of the voting methods used in the jury room, does the poll of the jury in open court validate the verdict? We hold that it does.

This wrongful death action was submitted to the jury with instructions to render a verdict in the form of answers to several special interrogatories. Among the instructions was the following:

Because this is a civil case, nine[ 1 ] of your number may agree upon the answer to a question. The same nine must agree to the answers to each question to constitute a verdict. When your verdict is completed, the…