The trial of the man accused of sexually assaulting former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has been aborted without a verdict after a juror’s misconduct. Chief Justice Lucy McCallum wrote in her decision that at least one juror had accessed research material outside of what was provided to the jury during the trial. During a routine…

The cellphone and other electronic devices of “Juror X,” whose social-media posts during a high-profile federal case created controversy, will not be subjected to forensic examination, a federal appeals court ruled. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio, refused to issue an order allowing a probe of the…

When empaneled jurors make social media posts during a trial, they risk opening Pandora’s box—a recurrent issue in courtrooms throughout the United States and in many foreign countries. The current case of a woman called “Juror X” in a Cincinnati federal court illustrates how jurors invite scrutiny and possibly jeopardize a verdict when they choose…