542 
J 0 
out leave of the court; and with leave lie rnuft have a 
keeper with him. 2 Lil. 123, 127. A witnefs may not be 
called by the jury to recite the fame evidence he gave in 
court, when they are gone from the bar. Cro. Eliz. 189. 
Nor may a party give a brief or notes of the caufe to the 
jury to confider of; if he doth, he and the jurors may be 
fined. Moor. 815. If. jurymen after fworn, either before 
«r after they are agreed of their verdidt, eat and drink, 
the verdidt may be good ; but they are fineable; and, if 
it be at the charge of either party, the verdidt is void. 
Dalif. 10. Cro. Jac. 21. If they agree to calf lots for their 
verdidl, or to bring in g-uilty or not guilty, as the court 
fhall feem inclined, they may be fined. 2 Lev. 205. Cro. 
Etiz. 779. But a jury have been permitted tore-call their 
verdidt; as where one was indidfed of felony, the jury 
found him not guilty, but immediately before they went 
from the bar, they laid they were miftaken, and found 
him guilty, which laft was recorded for their verdidl. 
jPJowd. 211. 
The jury are to judge upon the evidence given, but 
the jurors may not contradidl what is agreed in pleading 
between the parties; if they do, it (hall be rejedfed; and, 
where the jury find the fadt, but conclude upon it con¬ 
trary to law, the court may rejedt the conclufion. 1 And. 
41. 10 Rep. 56. Co. Litt. 22. Hob. 222. The jury may 
find a thing done in another county, upon a general iflue; 
and foreign matters done out of the realm, &c. Moor, c. 
238. Godb. 33. Jurors, having once given their verdidl, 
although it be imperfedt, (hall not be fworn again in the 
fame ilfue, unlefs it be in afiife. 2 Cro. 210. 
If a juryman is guilty of bribery, he is difabled to be 
of any afiife or jury ; and (hall be imprifoned and ran- 
fomed at the king’s will. Stat. 5Edw.Hl. c. 10. Jurymen 
accufed of bribery, are to be tried prefently by a jury 
then taken. 34 Edw. III. c. 8. And, if a juror takes any 
thing of either party to give his verdidf, he (hall pay ten 
times as much as taken, or fuffer a year’s imprifonment. 
38 Edw. III. c. 12. And on this ftatute a writ of decks 
tantum lies; and this, though they give no verdidf, or the 
verdidl be true, if they take money. Reg. Orig. 188. 
F. N.B. 171. New Nat. Br. 380. Dyer 95. 
A jury, fworn and charged in cafe of life and member, 
cannot be difcharged till they give a verdidl. In civil 
cafes, it is ctherwife; as where nonluits are had, &c. 
And fometimes, when the evidence has been heard, the 
parties, doubting of the verdidl, do confent that a juror 
fball be withdrawn or difcharged. 1 Injt. 154, 227. 
The jury, after the proofs in a caufe are fummed up, 
unlefs the cafe be very clear, withdraw from the bar to 
confider of their verdidl; and, in order to avoid intem¬ 
perance and caufelefs delay, are to be kept without meat, 
drink, fire, or candle, unlefs by permiiiion of the judge, 
till they are all unanimoufly agreed. If they eat or drink 
at all, or have any eatables about them, without conlent 
of the court, and before verdidl, it is fineable ; and, if 
they do fo at his charge for whom they afterwards find, 
it will fet afide the verdidl. Alfo if they (peak with ei¬ 
ther of the parties, or their agents, after they are gone 
from the bar; or if they receive any frefii evidence in pri¬ 
vate ; or if, to prevent difputes, they call lots for whom 
they (hall find; any of thefe circumftances will entirely 
vitiate the verdidl. And it has been held, that if the 
jurors do not agree in their verdidl before the judges are 
about to leave the town, though they are not to be 
threatened or imprifoned, the judges are not bound to 
wait for them, but may carry them round the circuit from 
towui to town in a cart. Mirr. c. 4. § 24. Lib. Ajf. fol. 40. 
pi. 11. This neceflity of a total unanimity feems to be 
peculiar to our own conftitu'cion. See Barrington on the 
Statutes, 19, 20, 21. 3 Comm. c. 23; and Mr. Cliriftian’s 
notes there. 
A Verpict, vere dictum, is either privy or public. A 
privy verdict is when the judge hath left or adjourned the 
court, and the jur^ being agreed, in order to be delivered 
It Y. 
from their confinement, obtain leave (in civil cafes) to 
give their verdidl privily to the judge out of court; which 
privy verdidt is of no force, unlefs afterwards affirmed by 
a public verdidl given openly in court; wherein the jury 
may if they pleafe vary from their privy verdidl. So that 
the privy verdidt is indeed a mere nullity ; yet it is a 
dangerous pradtice, and therefore very feldom indulged. 
But the only etfedtual and legal verdict, is the public ver- 
did ; in which they openly declare to have found the if- 
fue for the plaintiff or for the defendant; and, if for the 
plaintiff, they aflefs the damages alfo fuftained by him. 
Sometimes, if there arifes in the cafe any difficult mat¬ 
ter of law, the jury, for the fake of better information, 
and to avoid the danger of having their verdidt attainted, 
will find a fpecial verdid, which is grounded on Hat. 
Weftm. 2. 13 Edw. I. c. 30. § 2. And herein they (late 
the naked fadts as they find them to be proved, and pray 
the advice of the court thereon; concluding conditionally, 
that, if upon the whole matter Lhe court (hall be of opi¬ 
nion that the plaintiff had caufe of adtion, they then find 
for him ; if other wife, then for the defendant. This is 
entered at length on the record, and afterwards argued 
and determined in the court at Weltminfter, from whence 
the iflue came to be tried. Another method of finding 
a fpecies of fpecial verdidl is where the jury find a verdict 
generally for the plaintiff’, but fubjedt neverthelefs to the 
opinion of the judge or the court above, on a fpecial cal’e 
dated by the counfel on both (ides with regard to a mat¬ 
ter of law. But in both thefe inflances the jury may, if 
they think proper, take upon themfelves to determine, at 
their own hazard, the complicated quedion of fadt and 
law ; and, without either fpecial verdidl or fpecial cafe, 
may find a verdidl abfolutely either for the plaintiff or the 
defendant. Liu. § 386. 3 Comm. c. 23. It may be fufficient 
in this place to remark, that, in cafe the jury find againlfc 
what in the opinion of the court above is law, iucli 
court will repeatedly grant a new trial, till what they con¬ 
fider to be a proper verdidl is found. This might alone 
be an anfwer as to the juries being judges of law in civil 
cafes. 
It was an ancient dodlrine, that fuch evidence as the 
jury might have in their own confluences, by their private 
knowledge of fadls, had as much right to fway their 
judgment, as written or parol evidence delivered in court. 
And therefore it hath been often held, that, though no 
proofs be' produced on either fide, yet the jury might 
bring in a verdidl. Yearb. ia. Hen. VII. 29. Plowd. 12. Hob. 
227. 1 Lev. 87. For the oath of the jurors, to find ac¬ 
cording to their evidence, was conftrued to be, to do it 
according to the bed of their own knowledge. Vaugh. 148, 
149. This feems to have arifen from the ancient pradtice 
in taking recognitions of afiife, at the fir ft introduction 
of that remedy ; the ffieriff being bound to return fuch 
recognitors as knew the truth of the fact, and the recog¬ 
nitors, when fworn, being to retire immediately from the 
bar, and bring in their verdidl according to their own 
perfonal knowledge, without hearing extrinfic evidence, 
or receiving any diredtion from the judge. Brad. 1 . 4. c, 
19. § 3. Fleta. 1 . 4. c. 9. § 2. And the fame dodlrine 
(when attaints came to be extended to trials by jury, as 
well as to recognitions of affife) was alfo applied to the 
cafe of common jurors; that they might efcape the heavy 
penalties of the attaint, in cafe they could (how by any 
additional proof that their verdidt was agreeable to the 
truth, though not according to the evidence produced ; 
with which additional proof the law prefumed they were 
privately acquainted, though it did not appear in court. 
But this dodlrine was again exploded, when attaints be¬ 
gan to be difufed, and new trials introduced in their (lead. 
For it is quite incompatible with the grounds upon 
which fuch new trials are every day awarded, viz. that 
the verdidl was given without , or contrary to, evidence. 
And therefore, together with new trials, the pradlice 
feems to have been firlt introduced, which now univerlally 
<5 obtainsj 
