People v. Silva

The defendants in these two separate criminal cases were convicted of criminal offenses by a jury. The two juries each sent notes to the court requesting specific information for use in deliberations. The transcripts did not show in either case that the courts were aware of the juries’ submission of some of the notes. Defendants appealed, contending that the trial courts committed mode of proceedings errors under People v. O’Rama and its progeny by accepting the verdicts without acknowledging or responding to the jury notes at issue. The Court of Appeals reversed in both cases, holding that because the substantive jury notes, marked as court exhibits, were neither revealed to the attorneys nor addressed by the courts, a mode of proceedings error occurred under O’Rama in both cases, and the defendants were entitled to new trials. View "People v. Silva" on Justia Law