Jury Misconduct, Mistrial

A “mistrial” is essentially a ruling by the Court that cancels or calls off a trial as if it never occurred. “Mistrial is a drastic remedy and should be employed only in the most extraordinary circumstances.” State v. McFadden, 369 S.W.3d 727, 740 (Mo. 2012). Whether to grant a mistrial “is left to the discretion of the trial court because the trial court is in the best position to observe the impact of the problematic incident.” State v. Roberts, 948 S.W.2d 577, 605 (Mo. 1997).

In certain situations, jury misconduct is grounds for a mistrial. “While every party is entitled to a fair trial, as a practical matter, our jury system cannot guarantee every party a perfect trial.” Fleshner v. Pepose Vision Inst., P.C., 304 S.W.3d 81 ,87 (Mo. 2010). Missouri follow the “Mansfield Rule.” That provides that a juror’s testimony about juror misconduct is not admissible to impeach a jury’s verdict. Nonetheless, “juror testimony is admissible to establish that a juror committed misconduct by improperly gathering evidence outside of trial. Travis v. Stone, 66 S.W.3d 1, 4 (Mo. 2002).