that he received treatment from a psychologist or psychiatrist. No medical practitioner testified concerning his emotional distress. Iwekaogwu's wife testified that he used to be a fun-loving person but has changed. She testified that Iwekaogwu now cries a lot and has withdrawn from activities with his children and with social acquaintances. She confirmed that she had threatened to leave her husband because he was unhappy and would not communicate. She testified that they were having difficulty paying bills and that they could not afford to send their children to private school.
The case was submitted to the jury on May 21, 1997. On June 3 a juror sent a note to the judge, informing him that another juror, Ms. Hirtle, had admitted that she had sought the advice ofher spouse about the case. The court inquired on the record of Ms. Hirtle. She stated that she had discussed the facts of the case with her husband, a union representative, and that her husband had said "yes, that's retaliation." Ms. Hirtle stated that she had communicated her husband's opinion to the other jurors but had not told the other jurors anything more than this and had not communicated anything about her husband's reasoning. The court indicated that it would excuse Ms. Hirtle and substitute an alternate juror.
The City moved for a mistrial. The court then questioned the other jurors about Ms. Hirtle's statements in the jury room and whether they would be able to disregard what Ms. Hirtle had said about her conversation with her husband and