KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — A mistrial has been declared in the murder trial of Todd Maneke, but it wasn’t because of a hung jury, but rather juror misconduct.
It was alleged that three or four of the jurors did their own research outside of the court setting to get the information they need needed to reach a verdict.
Court officials aren’t saying what was researched but they are saying that some of it was inaccurate. Because the jurors could be cited for contempt of court for violating trial instructions, few details beyond that are being released.
It’s become a growing problem because of the proliferation of cell phones . Any juror that owns one of the devices can now start punching buttons from anywhere, and taint jury deliberations by introducing information that was not presented during the trial.
Maneke, who is charged with the beating death of neighbor Alfred Minka, will be retried possibly in January if no plea deal is reached before then.
