I saw on the news tonight that Mark Geragos, the lawyer for Scott Peterson, asked for a mistrial because one of the jurors, in examining Peterson’s boat, got into the boat and rocked it back and forth. Geragos contended that the juror was conducting an experiment on the stability of the boat. Jurors are supposed to rely on the evidence that is presented to them in court, not collect their own evidence through experimentation.
I thought that jury deliberations were supposed to be secret. I realize they can’t put a boat in the jury room, but it seems odd to me that Geragos (or anyone else) was allowed to watch the jury in the courthouse garage (which is where they viewed the boat).
My question is whether some violation of normal legal procedure has taken place. Did Geragos learn of the juror’s actions legitimately or not?
In most jurisdictions, the jury viewing the scene (or a boat) is done outside of the presence of the attorneys. Generally, the procedure is that the bailiff is sworn by the judge, and either the bailiff alone, or the bailiff, the judge, and the court reporter, accompany the jury to the scene. In rare cases, such as when an explanation is necessary, the defendant or his attorney may be present, but they don’t have the right to be present during the viewing.
Specifically about the Petersen case, the one report I read indicated that the judge had ordered that the jury was not to conduct any “experiments” on the boat. That order is standard jury procedure for viewing evidence. Court TV reported that Geragos, Peterson, the prosecutors and the judge were all present during the viewing. Why nobody said anything to the juror, I have no clue, but I don’t believe Geragos made a motion for a mistrial anyway.
I just heard on the news that the court learned about the experiment from the jury foreman. This could also explain why the jurors looked so unhappy when they entered the courtroom yesterday and why one of the jurors was red in the face: they might have been arguing about whether to report the experiment to the judge.
So my question has been answered: Geragos didn’t learn of the experiment through any violation of legal procedure.