--- title: "Jury Tampering | Civil Procedure" description: "Jury tampering is the illegal attempt to influence a juror with threats, bribes, or pressure, and it can undo a fair trial in Civil Procedure." canonical: "https://fiveable.me/civil-procedure/key-terms/jury-tampering" type: "key-term" subject: "Civil Procedure" unit: "Unit 8" --- # Jury Tampering | Civil Procedure ## Definition Jury tampering is the illegal attempt to influence a juror’s decision through threats, bribery, pressure, or secret contact. In Civil Procedure, it disrupts impartial jury selection and can lead to mistrials, retrials, or sanctions. ## What It Is Jury tampering in Civil Procedure means trying to interfere with a juror’s independence after the jury has been selected, or during the selection process, by using pressure, threats, gifts, or secret communication. The point of the rule is simple: jurors are supposed to decide the case only from the evidence and the court’s instructions, not from outside influence. This term shows up in the broader trial process because a fair jury is part of procedural fairness. If someone tries to sway a juror, the court no longer trusts that the verdict reflects the record in the case. That is why jury tampering is treated seriously and can trigger criminal liability, contempt, or case-level remedies. Tampering can happen in different ways. A party, witness, outsider, or even a friend of a litigant might contact a juror directly, leave notes, make threats, promise money, or try to gather private information to pressure a vote. It can also be more subtle, like repeated social media contact or a message meant to remind the juror who is watching. In a Civil Procedure setting, you usually analyze tampering alongside jury selection, voir dire, and trial management. Courts try to prevent it by screening jurors carefully, giving instructions not to discuss the case, limiting outside contact, and sometimes sequestering the jury when there is a real risk of interference. If tampering is discovered, the judge may question jurors, remove a biased juror, declare a mistrial, or order a new trial. A useful way to think about it is this: voir dire is about building an impartial jury, while jury tampering is about illegally breaking that impartiality after the process starts. One side is the court trying to protect fairness, the other is someone trying to corrupt it. ## Why It Matters Jury tampering matters in Civil Procedure because it can change the outcome of a case without changing the evidence. The whole trial system depends on jurors being neutral decision-makers, so any outside pressure threatens the legitimacy of the verdict. It also connects directly to the court’s duty to manage trials fairly. When a judge suspects tampering, the court has to respond fast, often with juror questioning, limiting contact, or stronger protective measures. Those responses show how procedure is not just about filing papers and meeting deadlines, but about protecting the integrity of fact-finding. For students, this term helps explain why the trial process includes so many safeguards around jurors. It also helps separate lawful persuasion from unlawful interference. Lawyers can argue to jurors in open court, but nobody gets to pressure, bribe, or threaten them outside the rules. That distinction shows up in case analysis, especially when a fact pattern asks whether the verdict is still reliable after outside contact. ## Connections ### Voir Dire Voir dire is the selection stage where lawyers and the judge question potential jurors for bias. Jury tampering threatens the whole point of voir dire because even a juror who looked fair during questioning can become compromised later if someone outside the courtroom tries to influence them. ### Jury Sequestration Jury sequestration means keeping jurors apart from outside influence during trial. Courts may use it when there is a serious risk of tampering, publicity pressure, or other interference that could affect deliberations. ### Obstruction of Justice Jury tampering is often treated as a form of obstruction because it interferes with the administration of justice. The connection matters when a fact pattern asks whether the conduct is just improper behavior or a punishable act that disrupts a proceeding. ### [Batson v. Kentucky](/civil-procedure/key-terms/batson-v-kentucky) Batson deals with discriminatory juror strikes, not illegal contact with seated jurors. It sits nearby in jury selection because both topics deal with who gets on the jury and whether the process stays fair, but they target very different kinds of misconduct. ## On the AP Exam A quiz question or case fact pattern will usually ask you to identify whether outside contact with a juror crosses the line into improper influence. Look for the method, like a bribe, threat, note, phone call, or social media message, and then connect it to the court’s response, such as questioning the juror, excusing the juror, ordering a mistrial, or imposing sanctions. If the prompt gives you a trial scenario, explain how tampering affects impartiality rather than just naming the wrong. A strong answer usually says that the verdict may be unreliable because the juror was not deciding only on evidence presented in court. If the facts include preventive steps, you can also connect them to voir dire or sequestration to show how courts try to stop tampering before it changes the result. ## jury tampering vs Obstruction of Justice These terms overlap, but they are not the same. Obstruction of justice is the broader idea of interfering with the legal process, while jury tampering is the narrower act of trying to sway a juror. If the facts center on one juror being pressured or paid off, jury tampering is the better label. ## Key Takeaways - Jury tampering is the illegal attempt to influence a juror’s decision outside the courtroom. - It can happen through threats, bribery, repeated contact, or other pressure that breaks juror neutrality. - In Civil Procedure, the term matters because a fair trial depends on an impartial jury making decisions from the evidence alone. - If tampering is discovered, the court may question jurors, remove a compromised juror, declare a mistrial, or order a retrial. - The concept sits close to voir dire and jury sequestration because both are part of protecting the fairness of the jury process. ## FAQs ### What is jury tampering in Civil Procedure? Jury tampering is the illegal act of trying to influence a juror’s decision through pressure, threats, gifts, or secret contact. In Civil Procedure, it matters because it undermines the requirement that jurors stay impartial and decide the case only from the evidence and instructions in court. ### What counts as jury tampering? Direct contact with a juror, bribery, threats, repeated messages, or attempts to steer a juror’s thinking all can count. The common thread is that someone is trying to affect the juror outside the normal trial process. Even indirect pressure can be a problem if it is meant to shape the verdict. ### How is jury tampering different from voir dire? Voir dire is the legal process of questioning potential jurors to find bias before trial starts. Jury tampering is illegal interference after selection, or during the process, meant to influence a juror’s decision. One protects fairness, the other tries to corrupt it. ### What happens if jury tampering is discovered? The judge may investigate what happened, question the juror, remove the juror, or take stronger steps like a mistrial or retrial. The exact response depends on how serious the contact was and whether it likely affected the jury’s ability to stay impartial. ## Related Study Guides - [8.1 Jury Selection and Voir Dire](/civil-procedure/unit-8/jury-selection-voir-dire/study-guide/ueK3lWtGSx07j1xW) ## About This Document Canonical Fiveable pages are available as Markdown at the same path plus `.md`. - [llms.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms.txt): index of Fiveable's sections and URL patterns - [llms-full.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms-full.txt): complete subject and unit listing - [MCP server](https://fiveable.me/mcp): call Fiveable as tools instead of fetching pages (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp`) - [MCP server for AP teachers](https://fiveable.me/mcp/teachers): a teacher's classes, assignments and AP-rubric grading (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp/teacher`) ## Structured Data ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/civil-procedure/key-terms/jury-tampering#resource","name":"Jury Tampering | Civil Procedure","url":"https://fiveable.me/civil-procedure/key-terms/jury-tampering","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/civil-procedure/key-terms/jury-tampering#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-07-03T02:20:51.025Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"Civil Procedure Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/civil-procedure/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/civil-procedure/key-terms/jury-tampering#term","name":"jury tampering","description":"Jury tampering is the illegal attempt to influence a juror’s decision through threats, bribery, pressure, or secret contact. 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