The defense team for Ghislaine Maxwell announced its plans to appeal her recent sex-trafficking conviction after two jurors from the trial told reporters that they were sexually abused and discussed this with other jury members in deliberations. 

Maxwell's attorneys are looking into whether the jurors incorrectly filled out a questionnaire in which they were supposed to disclose this type of information — details that could have led to biased decision-making. If they did, that would be gross jury misconduct that could be grounds for a mistrial.

Jury misconduct in any shape or form is critical to whether justice is served. However, it is an often misunderstood part of the process because justice systems don't want to scare off potential jurors from serving in future trials.

Stan Gipe and partner Matt Dolman are seasoned trial lawyers and acutely aware of how delicate the process of selecting a jury is and why jury misconduct is such a serious offense.

In this episode of the David vs. Goliath podcast, Stan and Matt discuss how emotions move juries more than facts and how this makes jury impartiality an even bigger deal. They'll also cover some of their own courtroom experiences where questions of jury misconduct became an issue.

In this episode: 

•  [00:38] Matt Dolman introduces the topic of the day: Jury misconduct and the issue around the Ghislaine Maxwell verdict
• [01:32] Why juror neutrality is critical
• [03:16] Stan and Matt share their  first-hand experience of jury misconduct
• [07:09] The dilemma of being a juror
• [08:38] Stan talks about the most common jury misconduct in civil trial personal injury cases
• [11:38] Jury selection is the most important part of a case. What drives jury selection?
• [13:50] How remote trials increases the potential for juror misconduct
• [17:25] Contact Stan and Matt if you’re ready to retain the services of competent and experienced trial lawyers for a personal injury case by visiting their website dolmanlaw.com.

💡 Meet Your Hosts 💡

Name Matthew A. Dolman, Esq.

Title: Partner at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA

Specialty: Matt is a nationally recognized insurance and personal injury attorney and focuses much of his practice on the litigation of catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida. 

Connect: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram 

Name Stanley Gipe, Esq.

Title: Partner and Head of Litigation at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA

Specialty: Stan is a Florida Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer. This distinction connotes expertise in the discipline of trial practice. He has served as lead counsel on over 1,000 Florida personal injury lawsuits.

🔑 Relevant Resources 🔑  

💼 Dolman Law Group: Accident Injury Lawyers PA

📰 Maxwell Verdict Is Clouded After Juror’s Disclosure of Past Sexual Abuse

📑 Race and the Jury 

📰 Porn Interrupts Zoom Hearing of Alleged Tampa Twitter ‘Bit-Con’ Hacker

💻 Cyberattacks on Courts

💭 Lies During Jury Selection: What Are the Costs? 

📰 Some States Seek To Eliminate Racial Bias in Jury Selection with Peremptory-Challenge Changes

💭 Do Unbiased Jurors Exist in an Age of Social Media? 

💻 Jury Trials Conducted by Zoom Can Lead to Biased Juries, Distractions, and Other Dangers, Lawyers Say

💻 How Courts Embraced Technology, Met the Pandemic Challenge, and Revolutionized Their Operations

📑 Access to Justice in the Age of COVID-19: A Roundtable Report

The insights and views presented in “David vs. Goliath” are for general information purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information presented is not a substitute for consulting with an attorney. Nor does tuning in to this podcast constitute an attorney-client relationship of any kind. Any case result information provided on any portion of this podcast should not be understood as a promise of any particular result in a future case. Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers: Big firm results, small firm personal attention.