Cite as: 507 U. S. 725 (1993)
Stevens, J., dissenting
In this case, for instance, to say that the Rule 24(c) violation affected substantial rights for purposes of Rule 52 does not answer the ultimate, and, in my view, more difficult question presented: whether the Court of Appeals properly exercised its discretion to remedy the error. After considering the nature of the error, the degree to which the respondents can be said to have consented to the procedure in question, see ante, at 727-729, and the likelihood that the procedure actually affected the outcome of the jury deliberations, a reasonable judge could well have concluded that the Rule 24(c) error in this case did not call for reversal under Rule 52(b). Rather, an opinion emphasizing the significance of the error, designed to provide guidance to the trial courts for future cases, might have been viewed as an appropriate response.
The courts of appeals are, however, allowed a wide measure of discretion in the supervision of litigation in their respective circuits. See Ortega-Rodriguez v. United States, 507 U. S. 234, 251, n. 24 (1993); Thomas v. Arn, 474 U. S. 140, 146-148 (1985). Certainly, the courts of appeals are better positioned than we are to evaluate the need for firm enforcement of a procedural rule designed to protect the integrity of jury deliberations and to weigh the interest in such enforcement against other relevant considerations. Because I am not persuaded that the Court of Appeals here abused its broad discretion, I would affirm its judgment.
745
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