People v. Wilds

In People v. Wilds, 141 AD2d 395 (N.Y.App.Div. 1988), the defendant appealed the trial court's decision to permit jurors to spontaneously comment upon and pose questions to trial witnesses, without prior court approval. The Appellate Division, First Department held that because the trial court permitted jurors to comment upon and ask questions to witnesses, without court approval or monitoring, the court had abused its discretion and had permitted the jurors to engage in premature deliberations. The appellate court advised that "the best practice is for the trial court to instruct the jury, prior to the taking of testimony, to submit all inquiries, comments or questions in writing, in order that the trial court can insure that the inquiry, comment or question is in legally proper form, and not prejudicial" ( Wilds, 141 AD2d at 397). The trial court used the analogy of a jigsaw puzzle of Abraham Lincoln to illustrate an instruction that the jury did not need all of their questions answered in order to convict the defendant. (529 N.Y.S.2d at p. 327.) The appellate court held this was error because "the average American juror would recognize a jigsaw puzzle of Abraham Lincoln long before all of the pieces are in place. Obviously, this is not the quantum of proof required in a criminal case." (Ibid.) The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial because the instructions diminished the prosecution's burden of proof. (Ibid.)