People v. O'Keefe

During the course of selecting the jury the Trial Judge called into his office the juror Whiting who had been accepted by both sides and had been individually sworn.

He told her that he had an affidavit relating to her qualifications as a juror and that he had learned she knew a tenant in a building owned by a defendant; that the tenant had introduced her to the wife of this defendant; and that she herself had once lived in that building.

This inquiry was not in the presence of the defendants or their counsel; but counsel were promptly informed about what had occurred. The Judge had been…