When juror misconduct doesn’t matter: opioid MDL edition

(Reuters) - Last Thursday, an unnamed juror committed grave misconduct in the ongoing bellwether trial by two Ohio counties accusing retail pharmacies of exacerbating the opioid crisis. She handed fellow jurors a printout from her home computer that seemed to cast doubt on the previous day’s testimony by a witness from Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.

The juror’s infraction was so serious that even the Ohio counties’ lead trial lawyer, Mark Lanier of the Lanier Law Firm, told U.S. District Judge Dan Polster of Cleveland that it would be “appropriate” to declare a mistrial, three weeks in to a scheduled six-week proceeding.