Receipt of Compensation for Past Action
Our most recent blog focused on the offense of retaliating against someone for an action they have taken in an official capacity. That statute is designed to protect individuals who play a key role in judicial proceedings from being threatened or harmed due to the fulfillment of their official duties. This blog deals with a similar statute, which aims at protecting the integrity of the judicial process by making sure that jurors are not influenced by receiving some sort of benefit in exchange for their vote in a criminal or civil case.
Tennessee's statute prohibiting receipt of compensation for past action, T.C.A. 39-16-512, reads as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense who solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit for having exercised official power or performed official duty in favor of another as a juror.(b) A violation of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
This statute is pretty simple. It is a Class A misdemeanor to ask for, take, or agree to take any money or other type of benefit in exchange for a vote one way or another as a juror. Although one would think it only happens in John Grisham novels, the bribing of jurors is a very real concern in the legal world, and the likelihood that someone will attempt to influence a juror grows with the magnitude of the case. Such a situation would be much more tempting to defendants in criminal and civil cases, because a conviction or finding of liability against defendants in those cases requires a unanimous jury. Thus, the procuring of one vote can be enough to turn a losing case into a hung jury or a non-conviction.
Jurors who accept improper benefits face up to eleven months and twenty nine days in jail. In these economic times, a wad of cash or some other financial benefit in exchange for a vote in a case that involves individuals with which a juror has no personal connection may be hard for some jurors to turn down. If you or someone you know has made a bad decision and is now looking at spending time in jail, contact an East Tennessee criminal defense attorney to discuss your options.
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