Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
Former Jurors Share 35 Moments In The Jury Room That Made Them Lose All Faith In The Justice System
Whenever I hear about jury duty, I think back to the 13th episode of season 8 in The Office. Toby is super excited to be on jury duty and his colleagues seem proud of him, too. Thing is, serving on a jury is a serious civic duty, but I also think that once you get a group of strangers locked in a room to decide someone’s fate, things can get unexpectedly chaotic.
You’d think everyone would be focused, logical, and paying close attention. In reality, though, it appears that isn't always the case as it sometimes feels less like a courtroom and more like a group project where not everyone did the reading. Don't believe it? Then, check out what netizens had to say about the dumbest, most baffling things they heard fellow jurors say during criminal trials.
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
When I was 18 or 19, my Dad had to serve on a jury. For whatever reason, I had to go pick him up at the courthouse when the trial was over.
When I got there, Dad told me to wait, because he needed to go talk to somebody.
Some other dude told me he'd been on the jury with my Dad, and that I should be proud becuase my Dad was selected as the foreman.
I asked how they picked him, and the guy said, "he was the only one of us in a suit, so we knew he was smart.".
RELATED:
#2
In the 1994 UK case of R v Young (Stephen), four jurors used a Ouija board in a hotel room while sequestered to "contact" the victims of a m****r trial, leading to a guilty verdict. The bizarre misconduct was exposed by a juror, resulting in a successful appeal and a retrial, which resulted in a conviction.
#3
Only was in one but a woman in our group announced at the onset that if we all voted in one way as a group, she would vote otherwise, even if she agreed with us. Everyone argued with her proclamation, but she stuck to it, insisting she was "keeping it real". I honestly hated her. I hope someday that she has just such a case and has just such a juror deciding HER fate. Just "keeping it real".
Serving on a jury is often seen as a serious civic duty, but understanding why jurors sometimes say or believe baffling things requires looking at how the system is designed and how people think. LaHood Norton Goss explains that the purpose of jury duty is to involve ordinary citizens, not just judges or officials, in applying the law to real-world situations.
Jurors are meant to act as impartial peers who evaluate evidence and testimony, ensuring that decisions are spread across multiple people to reduce bias or abuse. This system relies on citizens’ judgment to bring community values and common sense into the courtroom, which also makes human error, and occasionally absurd statements, inevitable.
#4
UK here. One of the other jurors was a prison guard. Absolute lunatic. Thought everyone was guilty, accused another juror of being in on it, briefly went on a rant about how he thought an usher was tampering with evidence, absolutely would not back down. Ended up getting removed for bias and we proceeded with 11, but it took a good long while.
Michael Largey 1 hour ago
Gee, why would someone who makes his living working at a prison be so intent on people going to jail?
#5
“I don’t think calling someone’s phone 10000 times in a week counts as harassment” smh.
#6
We had one juror who refused to vote guilty because "she said she didn't do it." Should have been a matter of hours in the jury room, but we deliberated for three days before we hung 11-1.
Michael Largey 1 hour ago
"Dearest, of course she said she didn't do it. If she had said she did, we wouldn't be sitting here, now would we?"
Part of why jurors can sometimes make unusual or illogical comments is tied to the way they process evidence and testimony. Bodiford Law explains that jurors carefully listen to witnesses, compare conflicting accounts, and attempt to determine what actually happened while following the judge’s legal instructions.
In practice, this involves a combination of logical reasoning and human psychology, including emotions, intuition, and personal biases. Jurors assess credibility by examining the consistency of statements, alignment with other evidence, and how confident or nervous a witness appears. They also rely on everyday judgment, such as evaluating whether someone might have a motive to lie or whether an expert’s explanation seems clear and plausible.
#7
I was a juror for a horrible kidnapping/m****r trial. In the deliberations one juror kept asking if anyone had gum. Every day. For 10.5 days. We weren’t even sequestered. Dude. Hit the gas station on the corner and get some! Nope. Every. D**n. Day. By the 5th day everyone was throwing gum at this guy multiple times. Maybe it was his own social experiment or something. Super weird.
#8
Purposely voting the opposite of everyone else, because their job gave them jury pay and so it was like a vacation for them. The foreman finally got the judge involved and the juror tossed. Should have been held in contempt.
#9
OH YES THIS IS MY TIME TO SHINE.
Guy robbed a liquor store. Caught on video. Confessed on video. Shaved his beard between the confession and the court case.
One juror was convinced the guy on trial and the guy confessing WERE NOT THE SAME PERSON. Was convinced it was a conspiracy. After 2 days of deliberations, he refused to speak to any other jurors
We were a hung jury after 5 days of deliberation.
Even the defense attorneys wanted to speak to us afterward and were like, wait w*f HOW.
Psychological and social dynamics further shape how jurors think and communicate during deliberations. Jury Analyst highlights that confirmation bias leads jurors to favor information that supports their initial impressions while discounting contradictory evidence, and hindsight bias makes events seem more predictable after the fact than they actually were.
Furthermore, groupthink can suppress disagreement when jurors prioritize harmony or quick consensus, and dominant personalities, those who speak confidently or early, can disproportionately steer the discussion. These human tendencies help explain why deliberations sometimes produce statements that are illogical, overconfident, or just downright baffling.
#10
I was a jury foreman years ago, dude on trial was absolutely guilty(DUI), 100 percent. We go in to deliberate, and another juror says "we know he f****d up, but how about 'not guilty' so we can not argue and just all get outta here?" Lol, no.
#11
I was on a case where a black juror mentioned she wanted the white defendant convicted even though she felt he was innocent for revenge for black men unfairly convicted. I reported her and she was removed, thank God.
#12
I was on a jury where this guy says, if he wasn’t guilty he wouldn’t be on trial.
To help reduce confusion, Judicature notes that measures are designed to clarify jurors’ roles, explain relevant laws, and provide a framework for applying legal standards. They highlight that jurors who actively engage with evidence, through note-taking, formulating questions, or other participation, tend to remember details more accurately and distinguish trial information from pre-trial knowledge.
However, even with careful orientation and instructions, jurors may still misinterpret complex legal concepts or allow personal beliefs and biases to affect their reasoning, meaning mistakes and unusual statements remain a natural part of the process.
#13
Had a more interesting high profile case than most and one woman despite believing the accused was guilty...simply refused to agree to vote guilty. Just in case she was wrong. Despite the fact she did believe a guilty verdict was appropriate. Very frustrating.
The judge initially really wanted our decision to be unanimous so extended deliberations by many many hours.
Most of those hours were spent molycoddling this one woman who simply couldn't make a decision. Eventually the judge settled for an 11 to 1.
#14
I served with a guy who said, "She looks like she'd be friends with my ex. I bet she's a liar."
Me: "If I said I think you look like you would cheat on your girlfriend, should we put you in jail?"
Him: "I didn't cheat. We weren't like official, you know?"
I didn't even know how to respond to that one. Talk about missing the point and proving it at the same time.
#15
Civil, not criminal, but one of the jurors immediately sat out of deliberations because she felt companies shouldn't be punished monetarily for "a simple oversight." An intellectually disabled man suffered second and third degree burns over most of his body due to a gas explosion where the meter hadn't been inspected since it was installed... 60 years ago. The other 11 of us didn't even try to sway her and spent our 2 days arguing how much money to give the man and his mother who was also injured.
We ended up with 10 agreeing on an amount unanimously which is all we needed. The company in question messed up the investigation into the explosion from the get go, lost a critical piece of evidence, and one of their expert witnesses pretty much lied on the stand and their lawyers fought that evidence being given to us so we wouldn't see the lie.
How I ended up on that jury, I'll never know. I was honest that I don't trust companies to have consumer's best interests in mind and that I've spent most of my adult life working with intellectually disabled children. But we made sure that man and his family will never want for anything ever again.
From these jaw-dropping jury room moments, it’s clear that not everyone comes to the table, or the deliberation room, equipped with common sense. Some jurors overthink, others completely miss the point, and a few confidently march forward with logic that’s, let’s just say, creative.
Whether it’s a bizarre question, a wildly inaccurate "fact", or a comment that leaves everyone speechless, these moments highlight the painfully absurd, side of civic duty. So, if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to sit in a jury room, this collection of stories is proof that reality can be far stranger than fiction. Keep reading and laugh a little!
#16
Mr. 65 year old refer madness propagandist
The "criminal" was quietly smoking on his balcony (at 2am) and one of the neighbors called the cops on him. The police showed up, arrested him (without incident), the DA added a bunch of paraphernalia charges, weapons enhancement, too close to school zone charges, etc. ... they wanted to throw the book at him. Everyone except Mr. Refer Madness was on board for jury nullification. After the second day of deliberation, yes two days thanks to Mr. Refer Madness, we finally got unanimous not guilty votes for all charges. I really wanted to throat punch the f****r.
Bonus: The "criminal" was a veteran using weed to treat his PTSD. This happened in 2004.
#17
I was a juror on a case where an older couple sued a furniture company. The couple bought a high end sofa, the reclining mechanism broke after 3 weeks, and despite being under warranty it still wasn’t repaired 2 years later. They had documented every excuse the furniture company gave them: “The repair guy got a flat tire.”; “We ordered the wrong part.”; “The repairman’s mother died.”; “The person that orders parts is on vacation.” Two years worth of b******t, so they sued for their money back.
During deliberations, one juror felt the furniture company didn’t deserve to pay because “I think the company was trying really hard!”.
#18
“Halfway through deliberations someone goes, ‘I just feel like he looks guilty.’ No evidence, no reasoning — just vibes. Meanwhile we’ve got timelines, testimonies, and actual facts on the table… but sure, let’s consult your psychic abilities, Karen.”
Wild how fast ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ turns into ‘beyond a reasonable vibe.’.
Lyone Fein 58 minutes ago
Scary. How many people make decisions all the time that are based on vibes and feelings.
#19
“I don’t think it’s wrong to steal copper wiring”. I was jury foreman, and it took a day to change this jurors mind.
#20
A couple jurors attempted to infer the defendent wasn't guilty of aggravated robbery because he was on d***s. That was quashed pretty quickly.
#21
Being interviewed for a jury. One of the older women spoke and said she was French and didn’t really understand English and asked to be excused. Judge asked her how long she had lived in America and she said 25 years. Judge told her to sit down.
#22
I was on a six week trial, vaguely related to some high profile criminal names in Australia. I'm happy to say everyone in the jury was great, and we all got on like a house on fire the whole time. This was the 90's, so it was a different time.
The dumbest thing that was done was very minor. By the time deliberations came, everything had been rehashed so many times that it was utterly clear to everyone involved that the two on trial were not guilty. One of the jurors said "we should stay in here a while, so they know we took this seriously". Haha, nar mate.
We ended up going out for celebratory drinks, running into the defendants and their crew, hearing even more evidence that wasn't allowed to be presented, and having a good laugh at the straws that the prosecution was grasping at.
#23
I sat on Federal Grand Jury.
The Jury Foreman wanted to indict everyone (and I quote) "so they can prove their innocence in court".
He very clearly did not understand anything about the American judicial system.
#24
Someone was convinced that notarizing meant that the contents of a document were all true. They didn’t understand that a notary can just be like, your neighbor with no background in law or criminal justice, who does it as a side hustle. In this case the defendant wrote a letter saying the crack rocks did not belong to her, and got someone to notarize it, and the juror thought that made it an open and shut case.
#25
I have been on juries in two criminal cases (years apart, different counties).
In both cases, I was generally impressed with how well my fellow jurors handled the responsibility.
That said, in one case, one juror was unwilling to doubt the word of a police officer. It took two days, but the other 11 of us got her to change her mind, and vote for not guilty.
In the second case, a lady would go into a department store with a shopping bag. In the bottom of the shopping bag were a lot of store receipts she had found in waste baskets etc. She would put stolen items in the bag and claim she had bought them.
Of course, the receipts were printed with dates (not the same date she was arrested), and merchandise codes (not for the items in her bags).
Her defense attorney urged us to disregard the hocus-pocus computer codes.
We of the jury practically rolled our eyes in unison.
#26
I was a juror with this old lady (for 26 days over the course of a year). One day she came up to me and said "you're such a handsome young man, but you need to shave your beard. It makes you look like one of those t****rists."
I'm middle eastern, but I look like I'm from the midwest. I just smiled and tried not to laugh. Old people accidentally being racist is kinda funny.
It was federal grand jury so we saw lots of cases. So another time... after hearing testimony from a current inmate who was African-American she went up to the only two African-American jurors and said "he has such a great smile and is so charming... he shoulda gone into the NFL instead of going to prison. ".
Lyone Fein 55 minutes ago (edited)
Yuck. Just coming on here to say that racism is not an older person thing. There are plenty of young people who are racist, and plenty of older people who are not.
#27
The defendant, while under oath (obviously) admitted she had committed the crime. After that the judge sent us to the jury room to deliberate. One of the jurors outright said she didn't think the defendant was guilty despite her pretty much confessing in front of everyone in the courtroom. We just stared at her for a few minutes before the foreman asked her to repeat herself. She did so and he reminded her that the defendant freely admitted her crime. As it is we were not required to render a unanimous verdict in this case and the rest of us voted "guilty".
#28
The only time I've served on a jury, we saw exactly one case, and it was such a slam-dunk we didn't even sit down in the jury room. Dumbshit didn't tell his lawyer that he'd looked directly into a security camera while committing his crime.
Michael Largey 1 hour ago
In most jurisdictions, the prosecution would have been required to show the security camera footage to the defense counsel well before the trial as part of the discovery process.
#29
The dumbest thing I saw was done by the judge.
As they were interviewing jurors and the defendant is sitting there with a gang of friends, the judge started using the jurors last names in calling them. So the defendant and his friends could find any of the jurors and where they lived easily.
#30
I was on a battery trial with two infuriating other jurors. The trial should have been an open and shut case. The guy had so much evidence against him that no one cod deny. But these two? They didn’t want to vote guilty because declaring a man guilty for beating the s**t out of his ex would make them sad.
The excuses they tried to come up with was mind-boggling, ranging from “we’re not the same race so we can’t be peers!” (Several of us called her a racist for that and made her cry) to “It’s my birthday and it’s bad luck!” or some b******t. A hung jury wasn’t allowed, so it was a torturous two days to make them stop their b******t and agree that yes, he was guilty. Sorry your fee fees were hurt, but too f*****g bad.
#31
It wasn’t even in court yet, I can’t think of the proper name. Not petit jury. ANYWAYS a dude was questioning the victim about her residency and kept saying there was absolutely no way there were townhouses where she said they were…. It was unhinged, like dude, she lives there she knows what kind of building she lives in…
It was made worse that it was a stalking/harassment case and his questions were just making her super uncomfortable to the point of tears so we had to take a break….
#32
I have been on about 6 or 7 juries, mostly very minor cases One of the jurors was a naturalized US citizen who worked for the post office. Her understanding of bureaucratic detail was poor. She thought she was going to get the daily jury pay for every hour, not for the whole day. But as a federal employee, she was getting her normal pay,, so she wasn't getting any more pay from the jury anyway. She really didn't understand what was going on. Fortunately she was one of the alternates and so didn't participate in the final deliberations.
In another case, two jurors were both Cantonese speakers and spent a lot of time talking to each other in Cantonese. We had no way of knowing what they were really saying about the trial to each other.
In another case there was a kind of crazy woman on the jury. She even once ran out of the jury room while we were deliberating our verdict and the staff had to retrieve her. All the rest of the jurors had already decided on their verdicts but w without her vote, the final verdict wouldn't be valid. We finally convinced her to go along with the others so we could go home!
#33
I was a juror in a double homicide, double attempted homicide, gang enhancement, firearm enhancement, two defendants, all circumstantial evidence. The presentation of the case went on for 3 months. I was really worried about how deliberations would go…and everyone was beyond fantastic. A diverse, thoughtful, considerate group of people who took their duty seriously and followed the law. The wildest part was trying to reconstruct the movement of the perpetrators and getaway driver, based on security camera footage from multiple cameras. We had a giant map on the wall. Then, we had post its showing the time on the camera and the correct time at each camera location. Then, we had different colored yarn to trace the path of each thing. We truly became the It’s Always Sunny meme where Charlie has the red yard and the map.
#34
I have had the misfortune of being on a jury a couple of times. Both times we had people who were convinced that they could tell when someone was lying or not.
#35
A guy almost got the group to agree on a 3 million dollar charge against an old man because he hit this chick's car, pretty much totaled it, and she wanted money in "damages."
It took me and one other juror to get the charge down as low as reasonable but still came out to $120,000.
Better than 3 mil I guess lol, that would have ruined his life. Over a car.
What do you think ?
SkyBlueandBlack 2 hours ago
DV trial. Charges included child a***e, spousal battery, and r**e. Got to deliberation and an older dude asked how he could be charged with r**e if they were married. He quickly got 11 simultaneous explanations and changed his mind.
Nikki Sevven 1 hour ago
Alleged A&B, and I was able to conclusively prove the defendant's innocence. One witness was outside, and the sun was reflecting from the glass, based on the time of day and orientation of the window. No way she saw what she said she did. The other witness was getting a perm and was 20 meters away...and not wearing her glasses. I suggested the foreman report the plaintiff for witness tampering.
Lyone Fein 44 minutes ago
This was a really interesting list. Different from BP usual fare. And kind of informative.
SkyBlueandBlack 2 hours ago
DV trial. Charges included child a***e, spousal battery, and r**e. Got to deliberation and an older dude asked how he could be charged with r**e if they were married. He quickly got 11 simultaneous explanations and changed his mind.
Nikki Sevven 1 hour ago
Alleged A&B, and I was able to conclusively prove the defendant's innocence. One witness was outside, and the sun was reflecting from the glass, based on the time of day and orientation of the window. No way she saw what she said she did. The other witness was getting a perm and was 20 meters away...and not wearing her glasses. I suggested the foreman report the plaintiff for witness tampering.
Lyone Fein 44 minutes ago
This was a really interesting list. Different from BP usual fare. And kind of informative.
Related on Bored Panda
