United States v. Esso, No. 11-570-cr (2d Cir. June 27, 2012) (Walker, Lynch, Droney, CJJ)
The published opinion in this case is a short and fairly unremarkable decision holding that the district court did not err in allowing the members of a deliberating jury to take the indictment – it charged conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud and substantive bank fraud – home with them to read overnight. The judge instructed the jurors that they must not show the indictment to – or discuss it with – anyone else, or conduct any outside research, and that the indictment was not evidence.
That said, however, the circuit strongly “question[ed] the wisdom of the practice,” and “urge[d] caution on district courts considering it.” The practice increases the chance that jurors will be exposed to outside influences in a way that the court cannot monitor and also risks overemphasizing the significance …