No New Trial: Juror Was Not Asleep, Just Focusing With Eyes Shut

No new trial is required because a juror that was presumed to be asleep was actually focusing with their eyes closed, and only during non-consequential moments of the trial

State v. Mohammed, 2016 BL 239035, N.J., No. A-70, 7/25/16.

   After making a decision about whether a juror was deemed to be inattentive and asleep during a trial, the New Jersey Supreme Court set out new protocol for allegations of a juror falling asleep or being inattentive. Generally, judges have broad discretion to correct inattention, whether they observed the behavior or not. The court held that if a trial judge finds a juror inattentive during a non-consequential part of the trial, then the judge has a wide discretion to fix the problem, with the possibility of review under the “harmless error” standard. If the juror was not paying attention during an important part of the trial, then “the judge must take appropriate corrective action, such as replaying a tape recording or videotape, rereading a portion of the jury charge, or excusing the juror, among other steps.”

   After establishing this protocol, the court found that there was no harm due the actions of the inattentive juror. The alleged instances occurred during pretrial instructions, which were deemed inconsequential by the supreme court. During the other instance of inattention, the trial judge, through his personal observations, found the juror to be paying attention, just with his eyes shut to help “focus.”

http://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/document/State_v_Mohammed_No_A70_September_Term_2014_2016_BL_239035_NJ_Jul.