Hampton v. Kennard

Al and Lope Hampton petition this court for a writ of certiorari to review a circuit court order permitting an interview of two jurors. We grant the petition.

Respondent James Kennard was the plaintiff in a motor vehicle negligence action. The jury verdict fixed the parties’ comparative negligence at 12 percent for Hampton and 88 percent for Kennard. Kennard then filed a motion for new trial, alleging in part that the verdict had been affected by juror misconduct. In connection with the motion respondent sought to interview two of the jurors based on two separate incidents.

The first occurred…