TITLE SIX — WITNESSES
Rule 606. Juror’s Competency as a Witness
At the Trial. A juror may not testify as a witness before the other jurors at the trial. If a juror is called to testify, the court must give a party an opportunity to object outside the jury’s presence.
During an Inquiry into the Validity of a Verdict or Indictment.
Prohibited Testimony or Other Evidence. During an inquiry into the validity of a verdict or indictment, a juror may not testify about any statement made or incident that occurred during the jury’s deliberations, the effect of anything on that juror’s or another juror’s vote, or any juror’s mental processes concerning the verdict or indictment. The court may not receive a juror’s affidavit or evidence of a juror’s statement on these matters.
Application. A petit jury sits only upon a charge of treason, as 6 R. Stat. §§ 131.111 and 131.306 provide and as Rid. R. Crim. P. 24.1 governs. Subdivision (1) accordingly applies only in such a trial and in a civil action in which a jury has been demanded and allowed as Rid. R. Civ. P. 27.1 provides. Subdivision (2) applies to a petit jury and to the grand jury impanelled under 6 R. Stat. § 131.101 and Rid. R. Crim. P. 5.
Grand Jurors. In addition to the prohibition of subdivision (2)(a), a grand juror shall not state or testify in any court how that juror or any other grand juror voted upon any matter before them, or what opinion was expressed by that juror or any other grand juror about the matter, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.109 provides; and no grand juror shall disclose the nature or substance of the deliberations or vote of the grand jury, as 6 R. Stat. § 131.110 provides. The secrecy so imposed is not lifted by the return of an indictment or by the entry of a no bill.
Extraneous Prejudicial Information; Outside Influence. For the purposes of subdivision (2)(b), each of the following is extraneous prejudicial information improperly brought to the jury’s attention, or an outside influence improperly brought to bear upon a juror, as the case may be:
a communication to a juror, by any person, concerning the proceeding, made in a direct message, in a channel other than the proceeding communications, or in the game environment;
a juror’s consultation of the public docket, of a filing in the case, of a statute, of a record of the State, or of any other source of information about the case or the parties, otherwise than as the evidence and the instructions of the court present it;
a juror’s receipt of information about a party, a witness, or the offense charged from a source outside the evidence, including a report of a prior conviction, an arrest, or an expunged record; and
an offer, threat, or inducement made to a juror.
Procedure on an Inquiry.
Initiation. An inquiry into the validity of a verdict or an indictment is commenced by motion, stating with particularity the ground and the source of the movant’s information. A party shall not interrogate a juror before leave is granted.
Leave of Court. The court shall grant leave only upon a showing sufficient to support a finding that a matter within subdivision (2)(b) occurred. Leave shall specify the jurors who may be examined and the subjects upon which they may be examined.
Conduct. The examination shall be conducted by the court upon the record, in the proceeding communications, in the presence of the parties, with such questions of the parties as the court permits. The court shall confine the examination to the existence and the circumstances of the extraneous information or outside influence, and shall not permit inquiry into the deliberations or the effect of the matter upon any juror’s vote.
Determination. Whether the verdict or indictment must be set aside is determined by the court from the nature of the matter and the probability of prejudice, and not from a juror’s statement of the effect the matter had.
Protection of Jurors. The court may, by order binding upon the persons before it, forbid a party, counsel, or any person acting for either from communicating with a juror concerning the proceeding, and may enforce the order as a contempt under Rid. R. Civ. P. 53 and Rid. R. Crim. P. 43.