Rule 47-1 Juror Contact

If you're a lawyer, a party in a case, or a witness, you can't talk to jurors, or have someone else talk to them for you, before or during a trial. This means no reaching out to people who might end up on the jury, and no contacting jurors who are already hearing the case. The rule covers direct contact and indirect contact, so you also can't ask a friend, employee, or anyone else to pass along a message to a juror on your behalf.

This rule keeps applying even after the trial wraps up. You still can't contact jurors once the trial has ended, as long as the judge hasn't officially discharged the jury yet. Only after the court releases the jury from duty does this restriction end.

The point of this rule is to protect the fairness of the trial. Jurors need to make decisions based only on what happens in the courtroom, not on outside pressure or influence from anyone connected to the case. Breaking this rule can lead to serious consequences, including problems with the trial's outcome or discipline for the person who violated it.