Is there a procedural error in the trial judge's response to the jury's inquiries?

Though the issue is close, we are persuaded that, in the circumstances of this case, the procedural error requires a new trial. The crucial evidence against the accused was sharply disputed, and, more significantly, the jury was experiencing considerable difficulty in resolving the dispute, twice reporting a deadlock. In such circumstances the wording of the trial judge's responses to the jury's inquiries assumed even added significance to that normally attending this critical stage of a criminal trial. See Bollenbach v. United States, 326 U.S. 607, 612-13, 66 S.Ct. 402, 405, 90 L.Ed. 350 (1946). Had the first note been discussed with counsel, the phrases in the response concerning the Government's view of the importance of the case might well have been avoided, and the traditional cautionary language concerning not abandoning

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