John W. Stevens v. State Indiana

ON PETITION FOR REHEARING Appellant has petitioned for rehearing of his appeal, which we decided September 24, 1976 (reported at 354 N.E.2d 727). His contention is that this Court failed to consider one of his assigned errors which was preserved and argued on appeal. The error arises from appellant's discovery, after the jury had been sworn and some evidence presented, that one of the jurors was a former co-worker of a defense witness, and had discussed the facts of this case with that witness. The trial court held a hearing to determine whether the juror had formed Conclusions as to appellant's guilt, and following the hearing overruled appellant's challenge of the juror for cause. We approved this procedure and result.