Exploring jury misconduct in a digital age

Jury misconduct is no new phenomenon. Case law provides accounts of jurors conducting their own experiments or research during jury deliberations. The omnipresence of the internet and social media and public fascination with fictional crime dramas present problems for the criminal trial. As a result, the traditional jury model is under threat. However, while the criminal justice system prides itself upon principles of open justice, the jury’s deliberations are shrouded in secrecy, protected in order to promote candour in deliberations, protect the finality of the verdict, and to protect the privacy of jurors. The consequence is that we have no evidence as to the frequency of jury misconduct cases, and where jurors do come forward to report misconduct, only allegations of jury misconduct disclosed pre-verdict can be investigated, while those disclosed post-verdict cannot.

This paper focuses on digital misconduct, including cases involving jurors using the internet to carry out research into legal terms or to search for information about the defendant, the judge or the case, and jurors sharing the details of deliberations online. Drawing upon a thematic review of case law and preliminary findings from semi structured interviews with criminal practitioners, this paper offers an analysis of jury misconduct in a digital age and lawyers’ perceptions of jury behaviour. It also explores the distinction drawn between pre-verdict disclosure and post-verdict disclosure cases and the balance between the principles of collective responsibility and verdict integrity. This research highlights the challenges posed by digital misconduct and informs the current debates about jury secrecy.