60-272. Contact with jurors; discussion of deliberations or verdict following discharge; informing jurors; violations, contempt. (a) On completion of a jury trial in a civil action and before the jury is discharged, the judge shall inform the jurors that they have an absolute right to discuss or not to discuss the deliberations or verdict with anyone except as provided in subsections (f) and (g). The judge shall also inform the jurors of the provisions set forth in subsections (b), (c), (d) and (e).
(b) Immediately following the discharge of the jury in a civil action, the defendant, or the defendant's attorney or representative, or the plaintiff, or the plaintiff's attorney or representative, may discuss the jury deliberations or verdict with a member of the jury only if the juror consents to the discussion.
(c) If a discussion of the jury deliberations or verdict with a member of the jury occurs at any time other than immediately following the discharge of the jury, prior to discussing the jury deliberations or verdict with a member of a jury, the defendant, or the defendant's attorney or representative, or the plaintiff, or the plaintiff's attorney or representative, shall inform the juror of the identity of the case, the party in the case that the person represents, the subject of the interview, the absolute right of the juror to discuss or not discuss the deliberations or verdict in the case with the person and the juror's right to review and have a copy of any declaration filed with the court.
(d) Any unreasonable contact with a juror by the defendant, or the defendant's attorney or representative, or by the plaintiff, or the plaintiff's attorney or representative, without the juror's consent shall be immediately reported to the trial court.
(e) Any violation of this section shall be considered a violation of a lawful court order and may be punished as contempt of court.
(f) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a law enforcement officer from discussing the deliberations or verdict with a member of the jury for the purpose of investigating an allegation of criminal conduct.
(g) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the court or a judge from discussing the deliberations or verdict with a member of the jury for any lawful purpose.
(h) This section shall be part of and supplemental to the code of civil procedure.
History: L. 2018, ch. 108, § 5; July 1.
Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.
LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.
The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.
You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.
The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.
Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.