Juries
Sudoku-Playing Jurors Scuttle Australian Drug Trial in 66th Day
An Australian judge was notified about a curious habit of some jurors hearing a drug conspiracy trial. They were thought to be taking notes, but for some reason they were writing vertically rather than horizontally.
The jurors, it turned out, were playing Sudoku, the Associated Press reports. The jury foreman admitted that she and four or five other jurors had been keeping occupied by doing the puzzles, the Guardian reports.
The admission led Sydney District Court Judge Peter Zahra to end the trial in its 66th day. Its estimated cost had already reached nearly $1 million. A new trial in the case is expected to begin in the next few weeks.
