British Solicitor Suspended From Practice of Law for Misconduct as Juror

 Even lawyers serving as jurors can suffer serious consequences for Internet research in violation of the judge's orders.  In March 2021 a 25-year veteran British solicitor was serving as a juror in a civil case.  She researched real estate records relevant to the case, disclosed her findings to the jury, caused a mistrial, and delayed a retrial for 8 months at substantial expense to the parties and lawyers.  The solicitor spent 4 months in jail, literally serving as a jailhouse lawyer assisting her fellow inmates.  In addition, she failed to maintain the public confidence in the solicitor profession.  (Solictors assist trial lawyers but do not themselves appear as a barrister, that is, trial counsel.).   In January 2024 she was suspended from practicing law for 8 years and ordered to pay 5,000 pounds in costs. 

The Financial Burden of Jury Duty

 One aspect of jury duty of which I was always concerned was the financial strain of a lengthy trial many citizens..  Most of the trials I presided over in state court lasted no longer than 10 court-days.  After being appointed to the bench I quickly stopped suggesting to the potential jurors the numbers of days the trial would likely require.  Trials are often delayed by illness of participants, witness issues, technology issues, etc.  Where I worked a significant portion of the jury pool were self-employed people in the trades, farmers, students with part-time jobs, and day care providers.  They could not afford to lose even a week of income.

A lawyer in the notorious Young Thug trial last week opined that the trial may go into 2027.  I recall several decades ago when the tobacco company trials in Saint Paul, Minnesota, federal court went for many months, several of the jurors had to file bankruptcy, having been out of work during the course of the trial.  The court-paid jury fee is pathetic, often $20-50 a day.  Many citizens who are self-employed or will not be paid by their employer genuinely are afraid of financial ruin if not excused from jury duty.

Just Google 'avoiding jury duty" and you may be surprised at what you will see. 

The Juror Who Found Herself Guilty

 This is the title of an amazing article by Michael Hall in the February 2024 issue of TEXAS MONTHLY about a jury in December 1990 that wrongfully convicted a Texas man of raping an 8 year old girl and the last holdout juror who also convicted but decades later decided to do something about it.  Carlos Jaile lost over 3 decades of freedom because law enforcement, the jury and the judicial system failed him.  Yet one small woman, after decades of guilty feeling, changed his life. It is a story not unlike the movie "Twelve Angry Men" but with a different verdict and ending.  

Juror Sentenced to Maximum 179 Days in Jail and $500 fine

 To update Dec 15, 2023, post, the juror arrested for misconduct in the Okafor resentencing trial was herself sentenced to the maximum allowable punishment in January:  179 days in jail and a $500 fine. Her misconduct resulted in a mistrial, the cost of which the judge estimated to be $200,000 but he could not assess the cost to her.