There are many kinds of juror misconduct, but most of them fall into the following categories:

1.  During jury selection:

• Giving innocently mistaken answers to voir dire questions or questionnaires
• Lying in response to voir dire questions or questionnaires

2.  Improper contacts:

• With participants in the case—witnesses, parties, attorneys, the judge, the bailiff or discussing the case with other jurors before deliberations
• With non-participants in the case—for example, discussing the case with friends or relatives, talking with relatives of a party or witness, or with reporters
• Although not misconduct by the juror, occasionally some outside person threatens or attempts to bribe a juror

3.  Misbehavior that interferes with thought processes:

• Drinking during trial recesses; using illegal drugs during trial
• Sleeping in court

4.  Receiving information not presented as evidence in the case—note: in most jurisdictions this is one of the few permissible ways of attacking a jury verdict on the basis of misconduct:

• Visiting the scene of the crime or tort
• Conducting experiments related to the evidence
• Conducting legal research on the case
• Conducting factual research on the case
• Reading news reports about the case
• All of these become more damaging if the juror reports the results to other jurors, as usually happens

5.  During deliberations:

• Refusing to participate at all
• Coercing other jurors
• Making statements indicating racial or other kinds of prejudice

6.  Improper mechanisms for arriving at a verdict:

• Using a game of chance, such as a coin flip
• Agreeing to ignore the law
• Agreeing to a “quotient verdict” in a civil case; that is, arriving at a damages amount by taking a figure from each juror, and averaging them

7.  Corrupt conduct:

• Taking a bribe
• Establishing a close personal relationship with one of the participants in the trial

Sources for reading about jury misconduct

Carmel Sileo, 41 Trial 74 (March 2005), News And Trend Jurors’ Discussion Of Personal Expertise Not Prejudicial, Court Holds.

David C. Brody, 25 Justice System J. 239 (2004), Legal Note, Facing Allegations Of Non-Deliberating Jurors.

Michael Heister, Case Note, State v. Cherry: The Lone Juror Forces Arkansas to Confront Pre-Deliberative Juror Misconduct and Rule of Evidence 606(B), 54 Ark. L. Rev. 823 (2002).

Laura A Caldwell & Kimberly A Wilkins, The Jailed Juror and Other Tales of Juror Misconduct: Is Reform Required in Illinois?, 21 N. Ill. U. L. Rev. 379 (2001).

Denise M. O’Malley, Essay, Impeaching a Jury Verdict, Juror Misconduct, and Related Issues: A View From the Bench, 33 J. Marshall L. Rev. 145 (1999).

Craig B. Willis, Juror Misconduct: Balancing the Need for Secret Deliberations with the Right to a Fair and Impartial Trial, 72 Fla. Bar J. 20 (1998).

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