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Juror Misconduct Results in the Reversal of a Defendant's Criminal Conviction

By Walin & Klarich

It was recently reported that a California court held that a juror in a criminal trial was engaged in prejudicial misconduct. The court found that a juror engaged in conversations with a non-juror friend about trial matters concerning the merits of the case, including discussions about the defendant's decision not to testify. (People v. Cissna (Feb. 26, 2010) Case No. D053464). It was thus decided a retrial would be granted. Jurors who are selected through jury selection take an oath to follow a court?s instructions designed to eliminate outside influences and generate decisions based solely on the evidence presented at trial. In this case, one juror ignored these rules and violated his sworn duties by speaking on a daily basis about the merits of the case with his non-juror friend...continue to full post

Full post as published by Southern California Criminal Defense Blog on April 12, 2010 (boomark / email).