P.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Defendant Jerry William McCluney appeals from a conviction and sentence after

he obtained a reversal of his convictions on two counts in a prior appeal and the case was

remanded to the trial court for further proceedings. In the prior appeal, McCluney

successfully argued that his convictions for assault with a firearm and possession of

cocaine for sale should be reversed because the trial court failed to conduct a hearing

regarding alleged juror misconduct. On remand, the trial court held a hearing and granted

McCluney's motion to release the jurors' contact information. The trial court

subsequently entertained McCluney's motion for a new trial on the ground of juror

misconduct, and denied the motion. The trial court then reinstated McCluney's

convictions on the two relevant counts.

In this appeal, McCluney contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion

for new trial. According to McCluney, the People failed to rebut the presumption that the

jury misconduct, which involved a juror referring to the dictionary definition of "intent"

during deliberations, was prejudicial. We conclude that any presumption of prejudice

was…