Wallace told Smith he approached the two “at the end of the proceedings… I mentioned to them that when the trial was over we would like to extend a voluntary invitation to talk with us. I understood that things weren’t concluded,” Wallace told the judge.
“That’s still improper contact with a juror. And that’s really serious,” Smith said.
The judge said consequences could include being charged with jury tampering, or if a mistrial is declared because of the incident, Wallace could be responsible for all the costs of the trial, “and that’s, I’m guessing, hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Smith said.
The judge said Monday he was contemplating at least a contempt charge against Wallace for his actions. Written statements about the matter are due to Smith on Thursday. Smith did order Wallace to stay away from the downtown San Bernardino Justice Center courthouse for the rest of the trial.
Defense attorney James McGee confirmed to Smith that Wallace “is a member of the defense team,” saying his roles included assisting in the preparation of the trial and acting as a media liaison.
“In some respects, that makes it even more serious,” Smith said, adding that members of the defense team can be held to same standards as the attorneys.
McStay case: Judge bars defense team member tied to film crew from courthouse for approaching jurors – Press Enterprise
These jurors also need to be applauded for speaking up. Reminds me of Sara Stern (NJ) trial earlier this year when juror was dismissed during deliberations, and gave a media interview the following day --when deliberations were still in process.
Nonetheless -- defense attorney Wallace knows better.
