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8 Mass. 413

White v. Wood

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Decided October 15, 1851

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · decided 1851-10-15

This was a petition for partition of land, which the petitioners claimed to hold under a deed from Obed Richardson. At the trial before Merrick, J., in the court of common pleas, the petitioners produced the deed. One of the respondents, Leonard, required them to produce both the subscribing witnesses to the deed, they being both in court, one of whom was the attorney for the petitioners.

Decided 1851-10-15

Dewey, J.

¶1This case has been considered by the court in connexion with the case of Gelott v. Goodspeed, (ante, 411,) and the views expressed in the opinion given in that case fully sustain the ruling in the present, as given at the trial. Ordinarily, it is quite sufficient to call one of several subscribing witnesses to a deed, to prove its execution sufficiently to authorize the reading of it to the jury.

¶2As to the other ground for a new trial, the communication made by one of the parties to a juror pending the trial, we see nothing to justify our interference for that cause. The communication was one that might have been made without *415any purpose to influence the juror, and there was nothing done calculated to bias his mind. Waiving all question as o the matter being one open to exception at all, we see no reason for setting aside the verdict for the communication made to the juror. Exceptions overruled.

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