Does a jury's misconduct in a jury trial prejudice a defendant who refused to take the witness stand because the jury did not want to hear from him?

Defendant's argument notwithstanding, the court's comments support the conclusion that the jury's misconduct did not prejudice defendant because it can be inferred that, by requesting to hear from him, the jurors were expressing the view that his testimony "might have assisted [them] in understanding him better." (People v. Leonard, supra , 40 Cal.4th at p. 1425, 58 Cal.Rptr.3d 368, 157 P.3d 973.) Fairly read, the court's remarks simply acknowledged that such testimony might have provided the jury with additional mitigating evidence helpful to defendant's case. Those comments do not support defendant's

[219 Cal.Rptr.3d 414]

argument that the jury drew adverse inferences from his failure to offer such evidence by taking the witness stand.