Showing that issues with the jury system are not limited to America, on June 10, a judge in Austrial was forced to declared a mistrial in a high-profile drug-conspiracy case after it was discovered that the jurors spent much of their time in court playing Sudoku. Apparently, everyone assumed the jurors were diligently taking notes until the accuseds noticed they were writing vertically as well as horizontally.The two men on trial faced life in prison for drug trafficking, and at the time trial was suspended it had already lasted 66 days and cost an estimated $1 million (Australian). Though the stakes were high, the foreman BOLDLY told the judge, the case was awfully dull, and Sudoku, he said, actually helped him with his duties and admitted that up to five jurors were playing Sudoku for at least half the trial.
"Yes, it helps me keep my mind busy paying more attention," he claimed. "Some of the evidence is rather drawn out and I find it difficult to maintain my attention the whole time, and that [i.e., paying attention to something else] doesn't distract me too much from proceedings."
Hey, let's make the jury box like Virgin Airlines -- with Internet at every seat! Then you could really stay busy paying more attention. Makes sense.
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