A three-month drugs trial has been aborted at a cost of “millions” after the jury’s forewoman admitted playing the number game Sudoku for at least half of the trial.
The District Court trial, which cannot be identified for legal reasons, was aborted…on the 66th day of evidence, after Judge Peter Zahra was told one of the accused men had noticed the jury playing the game.
The forewoman was brought into the court and asked by Judge Zahra to estimate for how much of the trial she had been playing the game.
“I don’t know, at least half of it I’d say, I usually have it at hand,” she said, explaining that “maybe four or five” others on the jury played Sudoku or other games.
She added: “Yes, and we discuss it sometimes, or the word games out of the newspaper sometimes are written down as well.”
The “jury” wasted a couple million dollarz on gaming instead of judging.
Thanks, K B
You get what you pay for.
I guess they should have a ‘jury watcher.’
Suddenly the OJ trial is explained
Drugs trials are time wasters to begin with. The jury forewoman did the right thing by at least keeping her mind occupied during this worthless time-suck. I will be using her technique if I am ever on a drugs trial jury.
Seems like somebody, the judge maybe; would have noticed this sooner. That it is even allowed amazes me. A great way to jury nullification. Not that I would ever want to inspire the citizens to such actions.
Now I have another away of getting off a jury. Thanks DU!
Phony “War on Drugs” has gone on how long ??? Didn’t Nixon have a Drug Czar, and Reagan, and Bush I and Bush II ??? (Why do we have “Czars” in a “Democracy” ???) Weren’t those Repuke “Czars” effective ??? About as effective as Bush/Cheney are in the “War on Terror” – No end in sight, but the WAR PROFITEERING GOES ON AND ON !!! (A “VICTORY” FOR REPUKE CRONIES THOUGH !!!)
And the “War on Drugs” has filled the Prisons, but now the Chest-Thumping Politicians don’t want to PAY THE COST OF KEEPING MORE AMERICANS IN PRISONS THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY HAS CITIZENS IN THEIR OWN JAILS – EVEN RUSSIA AND CHINA !!!
The people apparently want drugs, and the Government isn’t interested in giving them Jobs, so why not do the logical thing and DECRIMINIALZE DRUGS ??? Oh, but then the Politicians would have to do something that apparently they can’t do – ACT LOGICALLY !!!
66 days for a drug trial. The judge shouldn’t be allowed out of traffic court. I pity the poor jury.
>>66 days for a drug trial. The judge shouldn’t be
>>allowed out of traffic court. I pity the poor jury.
Yeah, that’s pretty fucked up. Were they holding the accused in Gitmo, or what? A drug trial should take 2 or 3 days, max.
Sudoku is the most insufferably boring game ever.
Just another reason why the jury system is BS. Nobody with any brains wants to sit on a jury, so what you get is the morons of the world who still probably think the world is flat. Go to a 3 judge panel, at least you have educated people who know the law deciding your fate instead of someone who religiously watching Oprah everyday and lives in a trailer. It would also prevent the Johnny Cochran’s of the world from putting on a show for a group of dimwits, and allowing a murderer to go free.
Ha. That was my first thought too. 66 days into a drugs trial? And she was only playing games for half of it? The woman was a saint…
First, this happened in Australia.
Second, how can a 66 day long trial, including presentation of 66 days of evidence, ever be understandable to an average juror?
The judge should have told the prosecutor to cut the evidence down to the amount needed to either convict or free the accused people.
Didn’t the judge or one of the lawyers notice this happening and tell them to knock it off? (I’m too lazy to read the article.)
interesting how the media drums up the facts – nobody mentioned that the jury asked if they could take in puzzles to do – and were told yes.
66 days! My god. You have to figure they take weekends off so your 3 months in a trial and no end in sight. I’d be ready to jump out a window.
It’s a free country….
Does Australia do it the same as the US, where drug laws are basically welfare for cops, judges and lawyers, to be padded ad infinitum, regardless of cost to taxpayers?
Ha. That was my first thought too. 66 days into a drugs trial? And she was only playing games for half of it? The woman was a saint