Miss. R. Evid. 606
Miss. R. Evid. 606
Advisory Committee Historical Note
Effective July 1, 2016, the Rule was amended as part of the general restyling of the Evidence Rules.
Effective June 16, 2016, the "Comment" was retitled "Advisory Committee Note."
Effective July 1, 2009, Rule 606 was amended to employ gender neutral text and to adopt an Advisory Committee Note.
Advisory Committee Note
The language of Rule 606 has been amended as part of the general restyling of the Evidence Rules to make them more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules. These changes are intended to be stylistic only. There is no intent to change any result in any ruling on evidence admissibility.
Rule 606(a) disqualifies a juror from taking the witness stand during the trial of the case in which the juror is sitting. Of course, calling a juror as a witness will be rare; voir dire will generally expose a juror's knowledge of facts relevant to a case and result in disqualification of the juror for cause.
Rule 606(b) is designed to protect all "components of [a jury's] deliberations, including arguments, statements, discussions, mental and emotional reactions, votes and any other feature of the process." See FRE 606, Advisory Committee Notes. Thus testimony or affidavits of jurors is incompetent to show a compromise verdict, a quotient verdict, misinterpretation of instructions, and the like. See, e.g., Hayes v. Entergy Mississippi, Inc., 871 So. 2d 743 (Miss. 2004) (pressure to reach a verdict); Busick v. St. John, 856 So. 2d 304 (Miss. 2003) (misinterpretation of instructions); APAC-Mississippi, Inc. v. Goodman, 803 So. 2d 1177 (Miss. 2002) (quotient verdict); Curtis v. Bellwood Farms, Inc., 805 So. 2d 541 (Miss. Ct. App. 2000) (improper consideration of attorney's statements despite court's cautionary instruction); Gavin v. State, 767 So. 2d 1072 (Miss. Ct. App. 2000) (confusion regarding instructions); Galloway v. State, 735 So. 2d 1117 (Miss. Ct. App. 1999) (improper consideration of defendant's prior conviction). This broad rule of exclusion ensures jurors "freedom of deliberation, stability and finality of verdicts, and protection of jurors against annoyance and embarrassment." See FRE 606, Advisory Committee Notes.
Rule 606(b) does not purport to set forth the substantive grounds for setting aside verdicts because of an irregularity. Even when grounds are alleged to exist, there is a "general reluctance after verdict to haul in and probe jurors for potential instances of bias, misconduct or extraneous influences." Gladney v. Clarksdale Beverage Co., Inc., 625 So. 2d 407, 418 (Miss. 1993) (discussing substantive grounds for setting aside a verdict). At the least, a party needs to show "a specific, non-speculative impropriety has occurred," and the trial court must supervise any post-trial investigation to "ensure that jurors are protected from harassment and to guard against inquiry into subjects beyond which a juror is competent to testify." Id. at 419. When jurors are permitted to testify about objective facts not of record and about outside influences, they may not be questioned about the effect upon them of what was improperly brought to their attention. Id.
The United States Supreme Court has recognized a limited Sixth Amendment exception to Rule 606(b) when "a juror makes a clear statement that indicates he or she relied on racial stereotypes or animus to convict a criminal defendant." Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado, 137 S.Ct. 855, 869 (2017). Not every offhand comment will suffice to overcome Rule 606(b) 's prohibitions. Rather, there must be a threshold showing "that racial animus was a significant motivating factor in the juror's vote to convict." Id. at 869.
In narrowly prescribed circumstances, Mississippi permits the correction of clerical errors in the verdict, notwithstanding Rule 606(b). See Martin v. State, 732 So. 2d 847, 851-55 (Miss. 1998) (Verdict incorrectly stated the defendant was guilty of possession of morphine when in fact the jury unanimously found the defendant not guilty. Such an allegation of clerical error did "not challenge the "validity" of the verdict or the deliberation or mental process of the jurors.") Of course, the possibility of clerical errors in the verdict form will be reduced substantially by polling the jury. Errors that come to light after polling the jury "may be corrected on the spot, or the jury may be sent out to continue deliberations, or, if necessary, a new trial may be ordered." C. Mueller & L. Kirkpatrick, Evidence Under the Rules at 671 (2d ed. 1999) (citing Sincox v. United States, 571 F.2d 876, 878-79 (5th Cir. 1978)).
[Adopted effective July 1, 2009; "Advisory Committee Note" substituted for "Comment," effective June 16, 2016; amended July 1, 2016, to note restyling; Advisory Committee Note amended July 16, 2019, in light of Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado, 137 S.Ct. 855 (2017).]