Wright v. Abbott
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Motion for a new trial of an action of replevin, on the ground of misconduct of the jury, which consisted by agreement of eleven jurors, who returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the Superior Court.
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Motion for a new trial of an action of replevin, on the ground of misconduct of the jury, which consisted by agreement of eleven jurors, who returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the Superior Court. At the hearing upon the motion, before Richardson, J., the defendant called as a witness John W. Tilton, a deputy sheriff, who had the charge of the jury during their deliberations on the case in their room; and, against the objection of the plaintiff, he testified substantially as follows: “ I heard their deliberations. I overheard what was said by them in the jury room. I heard the jury…
1Opinion of the CourtField, C. J.
The single question in this case is whether, on a motion for a new trial on account of the alleged misconduct of the jury, it is competent for a deputy sheriff who had the charge of the jury during their deliberations in the jury room to testify *397to what he heard said and done by the jury, in the jury room, for the purpose of showing that the jury decided the case by lot, or by the drawing of a ballot from a hat in which ballots had been put, some marked for the plaintiff and some for the defendant.
It is certainly not the duty of an officer in charge of a jury to listen to the deliberations of…
2Cases cited9 opinions
- Woodward v. LeavittMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1871
- Dana v. TuckerNew York Supreme Court · 1809
- Grinnell v. PhillipsMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1805
- Lessee of Cluggage v. SwainSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1811
- Birchard v. BoothWisconsin Supreme Court · 1856
4 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by7 opinions
- Simmons v. FishMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1912
- National Labor Relations Board v. Botany Worsted Mills, Inc.Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · 1939
- Murnane v. MacDonaldMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1936
- Selwyn Operating Corp. v. CommissionerUnited States Board of Tax Appeals · 1928
- James Turner & Sons v. Great Northern Railway Co.North Dakota Supreme Court · 1937
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