Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 10.djvu/282

 270 FEDERAL REPORTER. �upon him by the court. The case was given to the jury under in- structions from the court on the afteraoon of the third of June. On the morning of the fourth, before they had agreed upon a verdict, and while the jury were together in their room having it under considera- tion, the judge who tried the cause received, by the hand of the bailiff in charge of the jury, from one of the jurors, the following communication : "Has there been any evidence as to Doyle's knowl- edge that these bonds were forged, and can a peraon be convicted without positive evidence as to his guilt ?" To which communication the judge caused to be delivored, by the hand of the bailiff to the juror, his answer written upon the baek of the communication as fol- lows: "The jury are to determine, from all the evidence in the case, whether the defendant knew these bonds to be forged. If the cir- cumstances are such as to satiafy you beyond a natural and reason- able doubt of defendant's guilt, then you should so iind ; otherwise, you should acquit. Please preserve this." �There is nothirig in the record to show whether the juror wrote this communication and addressed it to the judge of his own motion or at the instance of other members of the jury. Neither does it aiErm- atively appear that the answer of the judge was made known to any of the jurors. The communication and the answer were made and received, as stated above, not in open court, the court in faot not being in session on the fourth of June, nor in the presence nor with the knowl- edge or consent of the plaintiff in error or his attorney. The answer of the judge to the communication of the juror, under the circum- stances stated, is assigned for errpr on the record. �After the case was submitted to the jury by the court, the plaintiff in error and his attorney consented that when the jury had agreed upon a verdict they might sign and seal the same, and if the court was not then in session they might hand it to the officer in charge of the jury to deliver to the clerk, and that the jury might then disperse to meet the court when it should again convene, and thereupon the court on Friday, June 3d, adjourned, and did not again meet until Mon- day morning, June 6th. On the opening of the court then, the jury not being present in their seats, nor having beeh called in the cause, the court addressed the clerk and asked if he had the verdict, where- upon the clerk replied that he had such verdict, and produced a sealed eiavelope from which he took a paper "«friting which he then read in open court as follows: "We, the jury, find the defendant, James B. Doyle, guilty, and recommend him to the mercy of the court." Which .verdict was signed by all the jurors and duly recorded. At the time ��� �