Juror Misconduct

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arkansas

A juror in an ongoing criminal trial contacts an attorney not involved in the proceedings. The attorney represents the juror in relation to certain business matters and represents a relative in a criminal investigation/proceeding. During the course of the contact with the attorney, the juror says that he did not answer questions not specifically directed to him, therefore he did not reveal that he had a relative who was the subject of a criminal investigation or facing criminal charges. The juror also states that he is going to get inadmissible evidence/information before the jury to gain a conviction in the case because the prosecution isn't doing its job.

Does the attorney have a legal/ethical obligation to report the inappropriate conduct of the juror to the Court trying the criminal case?

Is this a homework question?

LillianX said:

Is this a homework question?

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Sure, it could be. Hopefully someone out there will be able to answer this one off the top of their head.

We don't do homework.

I'm sorry, CSO286.

As I stated, I'm hoping that someone can answer without digging out the books.

Personally, I would think that an attorney, knowing that such contact during an ongoing trial is improper and would contact the Court regarding the juror's improper statements and conduct. I have been told, however, that there is no obligation to do so and that is why I'm asking the question.

LisaONewOrleans said:

I'm sorry, CSO286.

As I stated, I'm hoping that someone can answer without digging out the books.

Personally, I would think that an attorney, knowing that such contact during an ongoing trial is improper and would contact the Court regarding the juror's improper statements and conduct. I have been told, however, that there is no obligation to do so and that is why I'm asking the question.

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Lisa, we've all had to do our own homework. Google Scholar is your friend.

LisaONewOrleans said:

As I stated, I'm hoping that someone can answer without digging out the books.

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And THAT is why we don't do homework

You misunderstand. This sounds like YOUR homework. Most users on these forums will not answer homework questions for you.

I'm sorry, I did misunderstand the "homework." No, it is not my homework for anything. It actually comes from a real case with a real allegation of juror misconduct. As I stated, in my opinion, the conduct of the juror was improper and the attorney knew it was improper and he should have reported it. I've been told that the attorney was under no duty to report the conduct and I am trying to determine from attorneys whether there was an ethical or legal obligation on an attorney to report the known misconduct of a juror in an ongoing case.

I have tried searching "juror misconduct" and "attorney duty" and numerous other variations in Google (never heard of Google Scholar) and got a lot of hits that didn't tell me anything.

Again, I'm sorry for the confusion. I wish I could afford to use one of those "Answer" sites to get an answer, but I can't.

Thank you,

That's a tricky one, and I'm not sure, but I'm going to do some stream of consciousness typing here to see what I can come up with.

On the one hand, the attorney came across this knowledge via his role as the attorney of the juror. The juror's actions are criminal in that he could be charged with contempt. Due to the attorney-client privilege, I'd say that he doesn't have a legal obligation to report.

On the other hand, as an officer of the court, the attorney has a duty to ensure the effective operation of the justice system where he can, and I can definitely see an ethical obligation to report and, depending on the jurisdiction, possibly a legal one.

Would anyone else like to weigh in? I'm a little intrigued here.

as to:

During the course of the contact with the attorney, the juror says that he did not answer questions not specifically directed to him, therefore he did not reveal that he had a relative who was the subject of a criminal investigation or facing criminal charges.

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If the questions were not directed to him, then he had no duty to answer them.

but understand, if the judge asks a question to the entire pool of prospective jurors, that is a question that is specifically directed to the person just as it is specifically directed to all of the members of the pool.

to this:

The juror also states that he is going to get inadmissible evidence/information before the jury to gain a conviction in the case because the prosecution isn't doing its job.

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I knew a guy that told me the federal government was watching him all the time, even while he slept. I told him when he caught one of those buggers in his bedroom to give me a call and we'll give him what for in spades. Until he called me and said he had one, he was simply rambling.

LillianX said:

Would anyone else like to weigh in? I'm a little intrigued here.

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Without reaching over and grabbing the model rules, I think the only time an attorney is expected to breach confidentiality is to prevent serious harm (physical or financial).

I don't think there is any requirement to report a crime, but he/she should try to dissuade the client.

Thank you for the responses.

Does the privilege extend to the juror's jury service, though, since the communications in question were not related to the business matters being handled? To provide a little additional information, the attorney in question did not report the conduct at the time and he did not seek an ethical opinion as to whether or not he could report them. He has since come forward and reported the juror's conduct and statements.

It is entirely possible that the juror was just mouthing off and never really did any of the things he told the attorney. Of course, the delay leaves me questioning the credibility of the attorney, since the statements he attributes to the juror are so blatantly improper that I can't understand why he wouldn't at least report the fact that the juror was contacting him to the court and let the court handle it by dismissing the juror.

Thanks again and I will be interested to read any other responses.

think about this for a minute:

The juror also states that he is going to get inadmissible evidence/information before the jury to gain a conviction in the case because the prosecution isn't doing its job

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first, how is he going to obtain any evidence. He is a juror, right? Not a cop or investigator. How would he have access to any such evidence. Then, really, he is suggesting that he can somehow convince 5 or 11 other jurors to go along with his scheme and not report him. Do you think the other jurors are not going to know his evidence was not presented in court?


If the guy attempts his scheme, there is a really good chance he will end up in jail until the judge is no longer pissed off. If he presented this evidence to anybody, it would cause a mistrial as well and guess how much money this guy could be liable for for his actions? Heck, even if only he has it it is grounds for a mistrial and since he did this with reckless intent, I wouldn't want to be in his seat.

it sounds like he is a big BS'er and nothing more. Either that or a really stupid guy that doesn't mind going to jail.

Justalayman, the case received a lot of media attention. Perhaps the word I should've used was "information," which in this case was the statement of a co-defendant tried separately who ultimately did not testify at the trial. The juror basically told the attorney that he was going to get the jury to consider that statement.

Three of the jurors have come forward and stated that the confession played a part in their finding of guilt, however, the courts in Arkansas did not award a new trial on the basis of those statements, as they essentially found that the claim was not raised in a timely manner. The claims of the attorney would tend to support those statements.