On October 27, 2022, the trial of an Australian member of Parliament was abandoned after court staff discovered that a juror had done Internet research about academic studies of sexual assault cases. This was after 12 days of trial and 5 days of jury deliberation. The financial and emotional cost to all involved over one juror's lapse in judgment is great. Witnesses, including the female victim who testified for a week, must testify again once a new trial occurs, possibly in February. There is no indication of sanctions against the juror.
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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