Ohio Supreme Court Reviews Standard for Granting Mistrial for Juror Misconduct

The standard for granting a mistrial for juror misconduct was the subject of oral arguments this week before the Supreme Court of Ohio.  During deliberations a juror conducted internet research and brought definitions of "manslaughter: involuntary" and "perverse" to deliberations even though the judge had declined to provide a definition for the latter term.  After discussing the matter with counsel and questioning the juror (as well as allowing counsel to question), the judge granted the state's motion for a mistrial.
Good article and links to briefs is at:  http://www.legallyspeakingohio.com/2011/10/oral-argument-preview-what-standard-should-be-used-to-grant-a-mistrial-for-juror-misconduct

Bailiff Training May Need Evaluation to Avoid Mistrials

Earlier this year a judge in my judicial district declared a mistrial in a felony domestic assault case when a bailiff in charge of the jury during deliberations met the need of the jury but caused the mistrial.  The jury foreperson requested a dictionary and, being persistent, pressed the bailiff for help...to which the bailiff handed the foreperson an electronic dictionary to look up a legal term in the jury instructions.  The judge determined that under Remmer v. U.S., 347 U.S. 227 (1954) this communication was presumptively prejudicial. 
But wait! That is not all.  Then the judge was informed by jurors that overnight a fellow juror had called a friend of his who is a police officer to discuss the definition of assault. Hence, a mistrial and a substantial waste of public resources, juror inconvenience, and defendant and victim stress.  These incidents are symptomatic of many jurors desire for "information on demand."
Not only jurors, but bailiffs, need education on the admonitions against use of social media and the Internet during trial.

Fourth Murder trial of Same Defendant May Result in Another Mistrial, This Time for Juror Misconduct

In Fresno, CA, a defendant tried a 4th time and convicted of attempted murder, may get a 5th trial.  Defense counsel claims a juror has admitted to viewing a news story about the case during trial.  I'll follow this and update as events unfold...

More Mistrials for Juror Misconduct

A mistrial has been declared in Nashua, New Hampshire, after the judge determined that a juror researched information about the defendant during the first-degree assault trial, which had resulted in a conviction.  The news story I read makes no reference to the Internet, but I think one can reasonably conclude that the research was done on the Web.
Link: www.nashuatelegraph.com/news
Then search: Santos trial

Also a mistrial in Bergen County, NJ, after a juror brings to deliberations definitions of legal terms such as "reasonable doubt" and "preponderance of the evidence" that he found on the Internet.  The juror, however, avoided being found in contempt of Court.