Commonwealth v. Wormley

• Decision Date: 30 June 1852
• Citation: 49 Va. 712
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH v. WORMLEY.
• Court: Virginia Supreme Court

49 Va. 712

COMMONWEALTH v. WORMLEY.

General Court of Virginia.

June 30, 1852

(Absent Lomax, J.)

A sheriff to whom a jury is committed in the progress of a criminal trial, walks with them to a neighbouring house, and whilst there withdraws from the room where they are, leaving them in the company of three other persons. Although these other persons swear that there was no allusion by them to the trial during such absence of the sheriff, yet the verdict of the jury against the prisoner is to be set aside, and a new trial directed.

At the October term 1851, of the Circuit court of Chesterfield county, John S. Wormley was indicted for the murder of Anthony T. Robiou. He was tried at the March term 1852, and was found guilty of murder in the first degree. Whereupon he moved the Court for a new trial; first, upon the ground that the verdict was contrary to the evidence; and second, on the ground of misbehaviour on the part of the deputy sheriff and the jury. The motion on the first ground was overruled. On the second ground, it appeared that the jury, after several days delay in completing the panel, were sworn on Saturday and the witnesses for the Commonwealth and the prisoner were also sworn; but before any evidence was given in, the Court adjourned: That the jury were committed to the charge of George W. Snellings, one of the deputy sheriffs of the county; and on the evening of the next day, Sunday the 28th of March, by the invitation of Silas Cheatam, Esq., the clerk of the County court of Chesterfield, who resided about a half mile from the courthouse, the deputy sheriff, accompanied by all of the jury, visited Mr. Cheatam at his residence. On getting there, the deputy sheriff and jury went into the parlour, and Mr. Cheatam, Wm. Amber the son-in-law of Cheatam, and Augustus L. Winfree, who was employed in guarding the jail, were all in the parlour with the sheriff and jury. Shortly after getting to Cheatam's, the sheriff went out of the parlour, and into another room between which and the parlour there was no connecting door; and when in the room to which he went, the jury were out of his sight. The sheriff remained about five minutes absent from the jury; and during that time the jury remained in the parlour, and the three gentlemen mentioned remained with them, except that Mr Amber went out for a minute or two, and brought back with him a decanter of spirits, of which most of the jurors drank once,...