DATE: Thursday, June 12, 1997               TAG: 9706120003

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B12  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   38 lines

A SACRED RESPONSIBILITY: THE COURT SHOULD HAVE PUNISHED THE JUROR WHO CHATTED WITH HER OWN ATTORNEY DURING JURY DELIBERATIONS IN A MURDER CASE

Last week's mistrial in a Virginia Beach murder case underscores the absolute importance of juror integrity.

When the circuit court judge learned that a juror in the first-degree murder trial of Zackary Anthony Carter had contacted her attorney one evening after jury deliberations, the judge was left with no alternative but to declare a mistrial.

Sad to say, the mother of the victim must now endure another trial, and both the state and the defendent must finance the expensive legal replay. The new trial is scheduled for August.

During virtually every jury trial, jurors are cautioned repeatedly by judges to refrain from discussing the case, reading about the case, visiting the scene of the crime and watching television coverage of the trial.

In cases where the judge thinks that juror compliance will be especially difficult, he can order the jury sequestered for the length of the trial.

Sequestering a jury is an extreme measure and an extra burden on the civic-minded people who serve as jurors. We don't support sequestering juries in most cases, but we do urge judges to make sure their warnings to jurors are sufficiently strong.

Jurors who defy the judges' instructions can be - and ought to be - charged with contempt of court. They can be fined and sent briefly to jail.

In this case the juror was not punished for her misdeed. That's a shame. A hefty fine or jail sentence would have been the most powerful juror warning possible.

Our entire system of justice rests on the integrity of our jury system. Judges should make certain that jurors understand what is expected from them as soon as they are sworn in. Those reporting for jury duty must take their responsibility with the utmost seriousness. KEYWORDS: JURY DUTY

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