Sec. 16.
The jurors sworn to try a criminal action in any court of record in this state, may, at any time before the cause is submitted to the jury, in the discretion of the court, be permitted to separate or to be kept in charge of proper officers. When an order shall have been entered by the court in which such action is being tried, directing said jurors to be kept in charge of such officers, the following oath shall be administered by the clerk of the court to said officers: "You do solemnly swear that you will, to the utmost of your ability, keep the persons sworn as jurors on this trial from separating from each other; that you will not suffer any communication to be made to them, or any of them, orally or otherwise; that you will not communicate with them, or any of them, orally or otherwise, except by the order of this court, or to ask them if they have agreed on their verdict, until they shall be discharged; and that you will not, before they render their verdict, communicate to any person the state of their deliberations or the verdict they have agreed upon, so help you God." And thereafter it shall be the duty of the officer so sworn to keep the jury from separating, or from receiving any communication of any character, until they shall have rendered their verdict, except under a special instruction in writing from the trial judge. After the jurors retire to consider their verdict, the court may permit the jurors to separate temporarily, whenever in his judgment such a separation is deemed proper: Provided, That in cases where separation of the members of a jury is now forbidden by law, the authority hereby granted shall not extend to permitting separation of the members of the jury of the same sex.
History: 1927, Act 175, Eff. Sept. 5, 1927 ;-- CL 1929, 17309 ;-- CL 1948, 768.16
Former Law: See section 1 of Act 176 of 1893, being CL 1897, § 11960; CL 1915, § 15833; and Act 4 of 1909.