Jurors sentenced for researching the case
SUSPENDED JAIL TERMS AFTER TRIAL COLLAPSED AT COST OF £1.4M
FOUR jurors have been sentenced for going online to research details of a trial and causing it to be abandoned.
The jurors – including Sharon Doughty, from Mountsorrel – searched on their mobile phones while sitting in a trial which later collapsed, at a cost of £1.4 million, and forced a retrial for four defendants, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
The trial centred on six people accused of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to possess firearms following a series of shootings in Nottingham.
One juror became obsessed with a nightclub that was a key location in the trial and another downloaded music and played a rap video by one defendant during a jury social event at the crown court.
They went on to share the information they found with the remaining jurors.
Doughty, 51, Tina Denning, AnnMarie Fletcher and Jamie Lowe were sworn in as jury members for the trial, originally involving eight defendants, on October 2, 2019 at Nottingham Crown Court, and the case was due to start at the end of that year.
In March 2020, as the jury was left to consider its verdicts on four of the remaining six defendants after two had been acquitted, the truth about the research emerged.
An innocent juror acted as whistleblower to their behaviour, passing a note to a jury bailiff making accusations of bullying by a fellow juror.
Researching any aspect of a case as a juror is a criminal offence and warnings were given throughout the trial, with the research only coming to light after the jury retired to consider its verdicts in February 2020.
The four jurors pleaded guilty to several offences under the Juries Act 1974 and were sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday last week.
Doughty, 51, of Mountsorrel, pleaded guilty to two counts of researching the case during the trial period and a further charge of intentionally disclosing information to other jury members during the trial period.
She was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and must complete 120 hours of unpaid work.
Fletcher, 41, of Ironville, Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to four counts of researching the case during the trial period.
She was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and must complete 120 hours of unpaid work.
Lowe, 27, of Long Eaton, Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to four counts of researching the case during the trial period.
He was sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, and must complete 80 hours of unpaid work.
Denning, 50, of Nottingham, pleaded guilty to one count of researching the case during the trial period and a second count of intentionally disclosing information to other jury members during the trial period.
She was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and must complete 80 hours of unpaid work.
Andrew Baxter, deputy chief crown prosecutor from CPS East Midlands, said: “Jury trials are a central component of our justice system.
“The diligence of the vast majority of jurors means we can be confident that decisions are based exclusively on the evidence given in court.
“However, despite numerous reminders throughout the trial, these four failed to comply with the strict and careful directions given by the trial judge while undertaking this hugely important public function.”
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Sinski, of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: “Not only did this offending result in a significant monetary wastage to the public purse, but the collapse of the trial caused witnesses to have to go through the traumatic experience of giving their evidence again at a retrial, as well as causing delay to the resolution of the case.
“These four jurors were well aware that they should not have been engaging in their own research into aspects of this case.
“Any action which interferes with the administration of justice is a serious breach.
“I hope the sentences imposed send a warning to other jurors about their essential responsibilities.”