Section 8.21 Taking Exhibits to the Jury Room

• Library: Sources of Proof (2014 Ed.)

Generally, a jury may be permitted to take to the jury room or send for articles used during the trial to illustrate or explain the testimony of witnesses, Zagarri v. Nichols, 429 S.W.2d 758, 761 (Mo. 1968), although it is also in the discretion of the trial court to refuse that request or to refuse permission to take exhibits to the jury room, Rob-Lee Corp. v. Cushman, 727 S.W.2d 455, 458 (Mo. App. E.D. 1987). In Eckelkamp v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co., 298 S.W.3d 546, 553–54 (Mo. App. E.D. 2009), the jury requested an exhibit that had been projected on a screen during witness testimony. Although the request was denied, a later appeal held that it was error to display a statute to a jury, and the court reversed because the statutory text was not...