Opinion
No. 2014AP1758–CR.
2015-03-17
STATE of Wisconsin, Plaintiff–Respondent, v. Wade M. RICHEY, Defendant–Appellant.
Neither party objected to the court meeting with the jury outside the parties' presence. Id. at *5. The court further stated, “Given these unique circumstances in an obviously close case, defendant's presence at an evidentiary hearing may have yielded information directly bearing on whether the shackling influenced the verdict.” Id. at *8. In addition, the court relied on a Michigan court rule, which prohibited judges from communicating with jurors “pertaining to the case” without notifying the parties and permitting them to be present, and which further required that communications between judges and jurors be “made part of the record.” Id. at *7.