Volume 62 — Washington Reports, Second Series

<bold>[1]Criminal Law — Trial — Conduct of Jury.</bold> The granting of a mistrial for alleged misconduct of the jury is within the discretion of the trial court; and no abuse of this discretion resulted from denying such a motion where it was shown only that a newspaper containing prejudicial matter was found in the jury room, and it was not shown that any of the jury read the prejudicial part. <bold>[2] Homicide — Elements — Premeditation.</bold> There was sufficient evidence to support an instruction on premeditation where the jury could have found from the evidence that an appreciable period of time elapsed between the time the victim was first struck and the time of the act actually causing death to permit the perpetrator to form an intent to kill the victim. <bold>[3] Same — Instructions — Prejudice.</bold> An erroneous instruction on second degree murder could not have prejudiced an accused where the jury was instructed not to consider second-degree murder unless it found the accused not guilty of first-degree murder, and the jury <italic>did</italic> find him guilty of murder in the first degree. <bold>[4] Appeal and Error — Reservation of Grounds — Exceptions.</bold> Only exceptions which are made to instructions in the trial court may be considered on appeal, and if an exception is too general to call the trial court's attention to an alleged error, such error will not be reviewed on appeal. [1] See Ann. 86 A.L.R. 939; Am. Jur., Trial (1st ed. §§ 971, 972).