WITNESS AND JURYMAN

Dominion, Volume 16, Issue 177, 14 April 1923, Page 7

WITNESS AND JURYMAN

ALLEGED CONVERSATION DURING CASE.

An alleged conversation by a juryman with a witness was the ground of an application for a non-suit or fresh trial, made before His Honour Mr. Justice Salmond in the Supreme Court yesterday. 1 John Thomas Conway had claimed £l5OO damages against the Neuchatel Asphalt Co. for permanent injuries, allegedly received on a building in Lower Cuba Street on May 29, 1922. The case was tried before Mr. Justice Salmond and a jury of 12 on November 25, when £9OO damages were awarded by the jury. Yesterday Mr. Myers, for the defendant, applied for a nonsuit, or alternatively for a new trial, on the greunds (1) that tho jury had been guilty of misconduct; (2) that the verdict was against the weight of evidence. The misconduct alleged was that as the jury was leaving the court at the first day’s trial, one of their number had a conversation with an important witness for the plaintiff. While the conversation was in progress, Mr. O’Leary, counsel for the defendant, intervened, and pointed out that the conversation was improper. Affidavits filed by the juryman concerned, and by the witness,; stated that one of the jurymen asked the witness to describe the lift which was the cause of the acc’dent, and ho was in th© act of doing so when he was interrupted. Mr. Myers later abandoned the ground that the verdict was against the weight of evidence, but argued that the verdict should be set aside by reason of the irregular conversation complained of. Mr. O’Regan, for plaintiff, admitted that there had been irregularity, as all or any conversations by others with Jurymen were improper, but submitted that the irregularity complained of was not sufficient to weigh seriously with the Court. His Honcur reserved his decision.