Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 6.djvu/858

 846 FEDEEAL EEPOBTEB. �The faet that the jurors in question occupied Judge Trimble's room at ail is satisfaotorily explained. �It appears to have been arranged that some jurors in at- tendance upon the court should while away their evenings at cards in the rooms of Colonel Milo Smith, who was a juror of the regular panel, but not in the Pool case. It so hap- pened that Mrs. Smith, after some days, reached the city, and it therefore became necessary to abandon the arrange- ment for meeting at Colonel Smith's rooms. �Thereupon John E. Wallace, who was not a juror in the case then on trial, seeing that Judge Trimble's room was un- occupied, asked him if he had any objection to their card party meeting at his room. He did not state to Judge Trim- ble who the persons engaged in the card playing were; and the latter, when he gave consent to their using his room, wa» not aware that any juror in the Pool case was of the party. It clearly and indubitably appears that when Judge Trimble and Mr. Blythe afterwards came to know that some mem- bers of the jury in the case then on trial were of the oard party, they kept studiously aloof from Judge Trimble's room. It is proved clearly that Mr. Blythe was never in the room at ail when the jurors were there, and Judge Trimble was in the room only once during the several nights ia question, and then only for a single moment to obtain some needed papers. It appears that neither Judge Trimble nor Mr. Blythe ever, on any occasion during the trial, spoke to any jurors con- cerningthe case, or aUuded to the same in their presence ex- cept in open court. When Judge Trimble found that some members of the jury in the case were occupying his room, as stated, he was placed in a somewhat embarrassing situation. He had given consent to their ocoupancy of his room, which was practically vacant. He could not well rescind his assent and order thenx to vacate the room without danger of giving olience and perhaps prejudicing his client's cause. Both he and Mr. Blythe seem to have done ail that could reasonably be expected of them under the circumstances ; they kept aloof from the room during its occupancy by the jurors, and ab- staincd scrupulously from making any allusion to the case on ��� �