A federal trial court held a man that served as a juror in a case in criminal contempt and fined him $11,227 for conducting outside research while serving on a federal criminal jury and sharing his findings with the other jurors (press release available here).
According to court statements:
Juror Number 7 was one of 12 jurors on a federal criminal trial held in Camden federal court before Judge Kugler. Before and during the trial, Juror Number 7 and the other jurors were instructed repeatedly, both in writing and verbally, not to conduct any research about the case, including through use of the Internet. During a recess in the trial, Juror Number 7 conducted internet research into evidence in the case. He then shared his findings with the other jurors during deliberations, causing a mistrial. The fine represents the court’s costs associated with empanelling the jury for the trial.
There was no information provided about what Juror Number 7 searched or what he found.