The book was discovered by two court officers cleaning a jury room in Sydney. The response from the judge was swift.
The book had been brought into the jury room by a woman dubbed Juror M. It was discovered last month by two court officers when they were cleaning the room a week into the trial.The case became the eighth criminal trial in less than two years to be aborted in NSW owing to juror misconduct, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars in wasted expenses, including daily allowances for jurors, and exacting an emotional toll on the central figures in the trial.
She gave evidence that she used the book to look up words in the presence of all jurors, including “indictment” – meaning the written charge – and “jury trial”. The foreperson said no reference was made to the book.if they have engaged in misconduct in relation to the trial, which means either an offence under the state’s Jury Act or any other conduct that “gives rise to the risk of a substantial miscarriage of justice in the trial or inquest”.
Figures supplied by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research reveal that three jurors have been charged to date under the criminal offence provisions in the Jury Act, introduced in 2004, and all charges were finalised in 2022-23. The average fine imposed was $1117. The juror who claimed to have conducted the searches was “prepared to completely disregard the strong directions I gave about not searching the internet and has potentially informed other jurors”, Supreme Court Justice Sarah McNaughton said.
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