What Happens if a Juror Falls Asleep in a Trial?

For many, the idea of a juror falling asleep during a trial seems like an affront to justice. But it may not have the outcome that you think.

It will depend on the case, how long or how often the juror has been sleeping, the portion of the trial during which the juror fell asleep, and the arguments made for the judge to do something. A judge could stop the case to wake up the juror, excuse the juror, or order an entirely new trial. Judges would have to weigh your rights as a criminal defendant with other considerations.

There is no way to predict what will happen at a trial, what could go right, and what could go wrong. The best way to protect yourself from this and other trial mishaps and potential procedural defects is to hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer to defend you during the trial.

A Judge’s Options if You Fall Asleep

First, if a juror falls asleep, the judge may choose to do nothing. Even in higher levels of American government, U.S. senators have been recorded dozing and nodding off during impeachment hearings, and the trial continues without them.

As another option, a judge may stop the trial and ask the bailiff to wake the juror and ask them if they need anything repeated.

If the sleeping juror’s inattentiveness is especially glaring, the judge could dismiss the sleeping juror for juror misconduct or declare a mistrial. Then the prosecutor would have to decide if they want to retry the case against you. The judge could also seat an alternate juror.

Excusing Jurors That Fall Asleep

Many people will go to extremes to avoid jury duty. People may be looking to be excused just because it seems like they are nodding off.

For many attorneys, just trying to fill a jury box with people who can understand the facts of the case is a difficult enough task. If every juror who looked uninterested or asleep was excused, many more people would need to be alternates.

Starting a New Trial

There are two key issues with this idea:

• Criminal trials tend to be long and expensive
• Even if one juror falls asleep, many other jurors are still making the decision

A trial takes a vast amount of resources from the two parties (whether it is a lawsuit or criminal case). Between the attorneys and witnesses, there are many forms, filings, motions, and declarations that must be created, read, argued on, and finalized.

This entire process also takes the time of the jury. Depending on what type of jury trial it is, there may need to be a unanimous jury verdict. Murder trials often require unanimity. In other cases, only a majority of the jury needs to agree (for example: seven out of 12 jurors agree).

But if someone’s freedom is at stake, shouldn’t it be a fair trial and one that everyone takes seriously?

Overturning Jury Verdicts When Someone Is Asleep

The appellate court is incredibly hesitant to overturn a jury verdict if a juror falls asleep because both parties have to agree on the selection of jurors. This means all attorneys for each side selected the jury members during pretrial hearings.

Since there is a trial on the facts, and there were other people who agreed the person was guilty, most court cases will continue even if someone is asleep. If there was something flawed about the jury selection process (called voir dire), appellate courts would be more likely to hear an appeal.

Trials Are Unpredictable, Get Legal Help

Criminal justice and its procedures are unpredictable. You can prepare and prepare and then something unexpected happens that requires a new strategy. A juror falling asleep is one of those scenarios. If the trial is going your way, you don’t want a new trial; but if the trial was not going your way then you will want to move for a new trial. That is why having an experienced criminal defense attorney at your side to advocate for you is the best defense.