Juror Misconduct Law in Review

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juror misconduct

Summary: Nilgün Aykent Zahour analyzes the juror misconduct issues in State v. Anderson, No. 34655-2-III, 2018 WL 5734623 (Wash. Ct. App. Nov. 1, 2018). The issues we’re going to discuss are the trial court’s broad discretion in conducting investigations of alleged juror misconduct; jurors who see newspaper or media accounts of the trial during the trial; and jurors who know testifying witnesses.

Summary: Nilgün Aykent Zahour analyzes the juror misconduct issues in State v. Dressner, 2018-0828 (La. 10/29/18), 255 So. 3d 537.  The issues we’re going to discuss are a juror’s alleged incorrect beliefs about the law, a juror’s mental processes, the Louisiana “Shield Law”, which is their state version of Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b), juror affidavits that are inadmissible under these rules, and the presumption that the jury follows instructions.  

Summary: Nilgün Aykent Zahour analyzes the juror misconduct issues in the case of People v. Daniels, No. D074033, 2018 WL 4327873 (Cal. Ct. App. Sept. 11, 2018).  The issues we’re going to discuss are playback tools the jury uses when video evidence is sent back to the jury room and whether changing the contrast ratio on a TV monitor amounts to new evidence.

Summary: Nilgün Aykent Zahour analyzes the juror misconduct issues in the case of Monroe v. City of Seattle, No. 76478-1-I, 2018 WL 3738995 (Wash. Ct. App. Aug. 6, 2018).  The issues we’re going to discuss are suspected juror misconduct and the burden of proof, a juror’s change of mind, the jury’s collective thought processes and speculation.

Summary:  Nilgün Aykent Zahour analyzes the juror misconduct issues in the case of State v. Arndt, 426 P.3d 804 (Wash. Ct. App. 2018).  The issues we address are: Internet research on Google and Wikipedia to find a definition of premeditation, the presumption of prejudice and whether that presumption can be overcome or rebutted, credibility determinations at an evidentiary hearing, and a working definition of the abuse of discretion standard of review.

Summary: Nilgün Aykent Zahour analyzes the juror misconduct issues in the case of State v. Jenkins, 422 P.3d 72 (Kan. 2018).  The issues we’re going to discuss are a juror’s gifts to the prosecutor, a juror’s romantic feelings towards an attorney, the use of an evidentiary hearing to determine whether or not there was juror misconduct, and the timing of the alleged juror misconduct.

Summary:  Nilgün Aykent Zahour analyzes the juror misconduct issues in Woods v. State, 2018 WL 4776185 (Nev. Sept. 21, 2018).  The issues we’re going to discuss are the burden of proof in juror misconduct cases and evidence involving objective facts, a juror’s state of mind and the deliberative process, the presumption that the jury follows instructions, and the fact that there is no prejudice when the parties agree on how the trial court should respond to juror questions during deliberations.

#1: Social media juror monitoring to prevent potential juror misconduct In this premiere episode of The SM JUROR Podcast on Juror Misconduct Law, Nilgun Aykent Zahour, Founding Attorney of SM JUROR, examines how social media juror monitoring can be used to prevent potential juror misconduct in today’s digital age.  A juror’s exposure to extraneous evidence …

Episode 1: Social media juror monitoring to prevent potential juror misconduct Read More »