In August 2024 in St. Mary's Parish, Louisiana, a juror in the sexual abuse trial failed to appear for jury duty for the second day of trial. After the second day of trial another juror was found to have failed to disclose during jury selection that she was acquainted with the victim's family. The first juror was sentenced to 5 days in jail after a contempt hearing; the second juror to 15 days in jail. A mistrial was declared and the case must be re-tried, to the financial and emotional detriment of all involved.
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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