New South Wales Consolidated Acts

JURY ACT 1977 - SECT 68A

68A Soliciting information from or harassing jurors or former jurors

(1) A person must not solicit information from, or harass, a juror or former juror for the purpose of obtaining information about--

(a) the deliberations of a jury, or

(b) how a juror, or the jury, formed any opinion or conclusion in relation to an issue arising in a trial or coronial inquest.

Maximum penalty on indictment: imprisonment for 7 years.

(2) The deliberations of a jury include statements made, opinions expressed, arguments advanced or votes cast by members of the jury in the course of their deliberations.

(3) Subsection (1) does not prohibit a person from soliciting information from a juror or former juror in accordance with an authority granted by the Attorney General for the conduct of a research project into matters relating to juries or jury service.

(4) Subsection (1) does not prohibit any of the following bodies or persons from soliciting information from a juror or former juror for the purposes of an investigation or prosecution of a contempt of court or an offence relating to a juror or a jury--

(a) a court,

(b) the New South Wales Crime Commission,

(c) the Independent Commission Against Corruption,

(d) the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission,

(e) the Australian Crime Commission,

(f) the Director of Public Prosecutions,

(g) the NSW Police Force,

(h) the Australian Federal Police.

(4A) Subsection (1) does not prohibit a juror from soliciting information from another member of the jury during a trial or coronial inquest.

(5) In this section--

"court" includes any tribunal, authority or person having power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions.