Scandal! In 2 Countries Jurors Playing Sudoku In Court & Dismissed!

Jurors Playing Sudoku In Court?

What happens when jurors get caught playing sudoku in court?

There have been two cases, that I’m aware of , when Sudoku resulted weird scandals during legal trials.

Case #1 – Multiple Jurors Dismissed for Playing Sudoku In Court, Trial Restarted.

Image this scenario:  It’s 2008 and a three month long trial is winding down to it’s closing days.  Two men have been arrested and are on trial for manufacturing large quantities illegal amphetamines.  The testimony, examination and cross-examination of 105 witnesses has been completed and heard by the jury.  The cost of the trial is now over one million dollars.

At one point, during the final week of the trial, the judge praised the jury for having been so attentive and diligent in following the details for the case.

Suddenly, the case is dismissed and a new jury must be selected.  The trail will have to be held all over again.  Why?  Because the jurors were playing sudoku in court!

One of the accused noticed that a juror appeared to be taking notes and writing vertically instead of horizontally.  Then the other accused saw the same thing happening.  They informed their attorney that something strange was going on with the jury members.  The lawyer then lodged an appeal to with the judge.

The jury foreman admitted to the judge that several (actually 5) of the jurors had been playing sudoku in court during the trial.  They would solve the puzzles and compare their results during breaks and lunch.

“It helps me keep my mind busy, and pay more attention.” She claimed in her own defense.

The judge now regretted his earlier praise and stated that the jurors had let everyone down.  The jury was released and no one was penalized for the playing sudoku during the trial.  The New South Wales Sheriff’s Office has since updated it’s guidelines to instruct jurors that are they not allowed to play games during court proceedings.  IN other words, no sudoku in court in allowed.

Case #2 – A Fidgety Juror is Dismissed for Playing Sudoku in Court

Fast forward to 2021.  This time, it’s a court in the United States. Fortunately, it was only one juror this time.

After 8 weeks of proceeding during the Tharanos trial in which Elizabeth Holmes was accused of wire fraud for selling useless blood testing that she claimed to have invented, the judge received an email that informed that one of the jurors was hiding sudoku puzzles in her notebook and working on the puzzles during the trial.  The judge called in the juror and the defense and prosecuting attorneys.

The juror claimed that she has a “fidgety nature” and that playing the game kept her hands busy but she was able to listen to the case concentrate while playing sudoku in court.  “”I’m very fidgety, so I need to do something with my hands,” she told the judge, “so, at home I’ll crochet while I’m watching or listening to TV.”

Juror was excused and an alternate took her place.   Previously, two other jurors had left the trial for legitimate reasons.  Luckily, the court still had two alternate jurors on the bench after replacing the the sudoku playing juror and they were able to complete the trial.