Probably one of the most famous cases of jury tampering involves actor Tom Hanks. According to The Daily Mail, the Forrest Gump star was serving his jury duty for a domestic violence case when the ‘alleged’ jury tampering incident happened. The lawsuit made headlines not because of the defendant or the accuser, but because of Tom Hanks. TMZ reported that the Hollywood star was engaged in a ‘conversation’ by a woman who works for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office. The said lady approached Hanks and thanked him ‘for doing his civic duty.’
There are also much publicized jury tampering incidents mainly because of the accused and the nature of the crime. That being said, how does jury tampering transpires?
Jury tampering is described as attempts to sway jury members through bribes in the form of money, escorts or celebrity sex; threats; and disallowed conversations. One of the not-so-unusual circumstances is when a lawyer involved in an ongoing case discussed the lawsuit unknowingly in the presence of a member of the jury. Here are more examples of jury tamperings in the United States:
1. The Steven Avery Case
Just recently, Netflix streamed a ‘docu-series’ of the case of Steven Avery. If you’re following the show, then you’d know that it’s not the first time that Avery was tried and convicted ‘for something he did not do’ or so to speak. In the light of the recent docu-series, ‘evidences’ have come up that the case was goaded with vendetta alongside police corruption and whatnot. Jury tampering speculations have sparked when Sheriff Pagel, one of the star personalities of the case, was present at the dinner of the juries in a restaurant. It was said that this instance ‘have undoubtedly’ influenced the jury’s decision.
2. Charles Ng’s Court Proceedings
Charles Ng, then-US Marine, was accused of 11 counts of murder for his sex-and-torture murder rampage in the late 1990s. Although there was no involvement of threats or briberies directed to a juror, Ng was said to have called a jury member which is a violation of the jury’s conduct.
3. Henley’s Drug Case
Darryl Henley was a former NFL player. He was indicted for drug charges and was later on found guilty of the accusation. During the trial, Henley was alleged to have played a role on bribing $50,000 to jurors for their not guilty votes.