# Sleeping Jurors **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-jurors/404738 "2007-05-19T16:53:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-jurors/404738/1 "2007-05-19T16:53:50Z")
Lawdopers, what happens if a juror nods off during testimony in a trial? Is it declared a mistrial? Are there any ramifications? ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-jurors/404738/2 "2007-05-19T17:22:49Z")
I am not a lawyer. However I do know the (probably urban legend) about a case of sexual harrassment, where one piece of evidence was a note saying “I want you. I want you so much. Have sex with me tonight.” So this note is being passed around the jury, when an attractive female juror has to wake up a male slob who was asleep and pass it to him. He reads the note, gazes incredously at the hottie and puts the note in his pocket, smiling broadly. 😃 The judge tells him to pass on the note and he swiftly denies he’s been given anything! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-jurors/404738/3 "2007-05-20T04:44:31Z")
Sometimes they have ‘extra’ jurors on the panel, like 14 instead of 12. So the Judge can dismiss up to 2 of them, and still have 12 people on the jury. After that, if another one is dismissed, they drop to below 12 jurors. If both the prosecution & defense are willing to accept a verdict from 11 jurors, the trial can continue. Otherwise they start over with a new set of jurors. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-jurors/404738/4 "2007-05-21T04:29:05Z")
> [@](#): > > King also found that modern-day judges, while acknowledging that sleeping jurors are a fairly common sight, do not see them as a serious threat to the fairness of trials. Of the 562 federal and state judges who responded anonymously to her survey, 69 percent said they had encountered a sleeping juror in the previous three years. Judges reported sleeping jurors in about 2,300 cases, about 6 percent to 9 percent of the tens of thousands of trials they had presided over during that period. Yet only five judges reported granting a mistrial. It seems like quite a travesty. I sat as audience in a trial and witnessed a sleeping juror. No one noticed, or at least objected and the trial was decided without the alternate. What do I do. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-jurors/404738/5 "2007-05-21T12:40:17Z")
Doesn’t the judge have the right to notice he’s got some fading jurors and call a 15 minute break, get everyone up on their feet and moving for a few moments to wake them up? If the judges do have the right, do they commonly use it? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleeping-jurors/404738/6 "2007-05-21T14:18:42Z")
I’ve rarely had a sleeping juror in any trial of mine, but I’ve seen some heavy eyelids and nodding heads (particularly after lunch). Jurors are presumed to be of sound mind and body, and are expected to be paying attention to the proceedings. If they’re not, that’s a problem. If the judge doesn’t notice a sleeping juror, the lawyers probably will, and should bring it to the court’s attention. The judge will typically then ask the bailiff or the next juror over to gently nudge and wake the snoozer. And yes, it’s a good indication that a brief recess is necessary for the jurors to stand up, move around and get the blood circulating again. While I’m at sidebar in jury trials, I often suggest that the jurors stand in place and stretch - it gives them something to do while I’m talking to counsel, and helps improve their alertness. A sleeping juror, without more, typically won’t be cause for a mistrial.