Jacksonville Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
Jacksonville Judge, John Merrett, after nine days of trial, declared a mistrial in the David Vesey murder case yesterday due to juror misconduct. A Jacksonville juror conducted research on her own about the “shaken baby” murder case. The case will be retried.
Jacksonville jury trials are very time-consuming and expensive for the State of Florida, Jacksonville criminal attorneys, and the criminal defendant. A Jacksonville criminal attorney goes through extensive preparation for a jury trial. In some cases (as in Vesey’s case), the trial can take many days to complete. When the court retires for the day, the Jacksonville criminal attorney does not. That Jacksonville criminal attorney must continue to prepare for the next day of trial. When a Jacksonville case results in a mistrial, the process starts all over again. This is not only time-consuming for the Jacksonville criminal attorney, but expensive for the criminal defendant that must pay for another trial.
It is important for the jury to follow all of the instructions given by the judge. In every Jacksonville criminal case, the judge instructs the jury not to research the case. In Mr. Vesey’s case, the Jacksonville juror did not follow these directions. Now, the State of Florida must pay for a new trial, and the Jacksonville criminal attorney must prepare for trial, once again. This Jacksonville criminal attorney and his client will have to deal with the expenses involved in another trial.