Carrier Jury Asks: What Do We Do If A Juror Says, ‘I Quit’
There was a sign of trouble in the Joshua Carrier trial jury deliberations Friday when the jury asked the judge in the case, “What do we do if a juror says, ‘I quit?'”
Carrier’s defense attorney, Chris Decker, asked the judge to declare a mistrial, but Judge David Gilbert denied the request.
“The court instructs the jury to continue deliberations at this time,” was Gilbert’s response.
Both Decker and prosecutor Andy Bryant agreed that it’s not uncommon for juries to have a difficult time reaching a verdict.
They told KRDO Newschannel 13 that there are times when a juror can be replaced by an alternate during deliberations, but there has to be a significant reason, for example, a death in a juror’s family.
Decker pointed out that the law does not require jurors to reach a verdict.
“While we would like a verdict, it’s not required by law,” said Decker. “Do they have to return a verdict? The answer is no.”
Jurors must be unanimous in a decision to convict or acquit, but it is possible a jury could agree on some counts and hang on others. If that happened, it would be up to prosecutors to decide whether to hold a new trial for any counts the jury could not agree on.
Dave Webster, an attorney and former El Paso County prosecutor, said it’s not uncommon for juries to have problems, but, “in this particular case it went a little further than normal.” Webster said what’s happened doesn’t necessarily signal a mistrial.
“There can be arguing, there can be yelling,” said Webster. “Most of the time what occurs is, jurors find a way around it and they find a way to reach a verdict. Sometimes, it’s compromise verdict. They may say, in a case like this one, he’s guilty of 200 counts and 6 counts, he’s not guilty.”
He said he’s never seen a juror decide to quit during deliberations.
“I would be amazed,” said Webster. “I’ve never seen that happen, and I don’t think you ever will either.”
He said a judge could hold a juror in contempt of court for quitting and even throw them in jail. After more than three weeks of testimony, the jury in Carrier’s child sex abuse trial heard closing arguments Tuesday. The jury is considering more than 200 counts against Carrier. He faces life in prison if convicted.
