The court refused to receive affidavits from two jurors indicating that they had decided on their verdict by tossing a coin to resolve the issue. The rationale was that this was to protect them against self-incrimination for what he described as a very high misdemeanour. The court cannot receive an affidavit from a juror as to the nature of the juror’s deliberations.
Judges:
Lord Mansfield
Citations:
(1785) 1 TR11
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Regina v Connor and another; Regina v Mirza HL 22-Jan-2004
Extension of Inquiries into Jury Room Activities
The defendants sought an enquiry as to events in the jury rooms on their trials. They said that the secrecy of a jury’s deliberations did not fit the human right to a fair trial. In one case, it was said that jurors believed that the defendant’s use . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Practice
Updated: 25 November 2022; Ref: scu.192268