In a federal criminal trial of an attorney charged with wire fraud and securities fraud, during deliberations a juror threatened to cut off the finger of another juror, and later another juror tried to barter their vote. Over counsel's objections, the trial judge met with one juror privately and without counsel present, encouraging them to work with the other jurors toward a verdict. The resulting conviction has been overturned and the defendant granted a new trial:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-09/ex-refco-lawyer-collins-s-conviction-reversed-by-court-due-to-jury-issue.html
Moral of this story: Be careful when dealing with juror misconduct. Try to avoid making matters worse!
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