R v Karakaya
A conviction was quashed because a juror had researched the case on the internet and brought the results into the jury room.
Facts
Mr Karakaya was tried for rape. After the jury convicted him, a court usher found printouts of internet research about rape in the jury room, which a juror had obtained and brought in, including statistics about false allegations of rape. The printouts had not been part of the evidence at the trial.
Legal principle
The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial. Research by a juror outside the courtroom was a breach of the fundamental principle that the jury must decide the case on the evidence presented in court, which the defendant can test and challenge. Bringing such material into the jury room was an irregularity that undermined the fairness of the trial, and the court could not be sure that it had not influenced the verdict. The case is an early example of the problems caused by jurors' use of the internet.
Related cases on juries
- Attorney General v Dallas [2012] EWHC 156 (Admin), [2012] 1 WLR 991
- Attorney General v Fraill [2011] EWCA Crim 1570, [2012] 1 Cr App R 1
- Bushell's Case (1670) Vaughan 135
- Gregory v United Kingdom (1998) 25 EHRR 577
- Hanif and Khan v United Kingdom (2012) 55 EHRR 16
- R v Abdroikov [2007] UKHL 37, [2007] 1 WLR 2679
- R v Ford [1989] QB 868
- R v McKenna [1960] 1 QB 411
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This summary is for study and revision and is not legal advice. Although our case summaries are checked for accuracy, we do not guarantee that they are free from errors or omissions. Always read the full judgment for the court's reasoning.
