Elaine Wiseman v. John J. Armstrong

Summary

The court held that Practice Book § 16-32 requires a trial court to poll the jury when a party timely requests it, but that failure to conduct the poll is subject to harmless-error review rather than automatic reversal. Because the record showed no indication of juror confusion, disagreement, or coercion, the plaintiff failed to establish that the refusal to poll affected the verdict, and the judgment for the defendants was affirmed. Rogers, C. J., dissenting, joined by Katz, J., would have treated the refusal as requiring automatic reversal because the harm from a poll not conducted cannot be meaningfully assessed.