A friend recently told me about when he was a juror on a civil trial regarding an unpaid invoice. His story made me shake my head. He said that at one point during the trial when the jury was sent back to the jury room, one of the jurors blurts out, “Well, I think he’s guilty” referring to the plaintiff. The foreperson’s response was that the plaintiff is the one suing and that this isn’t the type of case where someone is guilty. The juror’s retort was “I don’t care” and that he still thinks “the guy is guilty.”
The juror’s complete misconception mirrors my own observations on three juries. During deliberations on one criminal case, a juror started crying about the defendant being set up. The first and only time anyone mentioned a set up was by defense counsel during closing arguments in an unsubstantiated throw-away comment. During deliberations on another criminal case, one of the jurors exclaimed, “I think he [the defendant] did it!” The foreperson explained that the jury has to decide if there is sufficient proof for each element one at a time.
