Barry Croft and Adam Fox were convicted on August 23 in the Whitmer kidnapping trial. Within hours the trial judge released the documents related to the alleged misconduct. A court clerk reported that the person who relayed the alleged comments by the juror to defense counsel had not themselves spoken to the juror, therefore it was secondhand (double hearsay) tip. The prosecution agreed that the judge could have a private conversation with the juror, but the defense objected. The judge met with the juror and determined that the juror could serve impartially, was not manipulative and was, therefore, not discharged. He determined there was no evidence of a "predetermined decision to find the defendants guilty." Post-trial motions may occur prior to sentencing in December.
A blog about the very small percentage of jurors who fail to follow the judge's instructions, including doing independent Internet research, using social media (such as Facebook) to contact parties and lawyers, and blogging about the trial. Juror misconduct frequently results in mistrials and a waste of resources. Links will be provided to sample jury summonses, jury instructions, and other resources to improve juror education and minimize juror misconduct, thereby promoting fairness of trials.
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