Subjective feelings of pressure experienced by a juror during deliberations, even where the juror joins in verdicts despite holding reservations, do not establish unlawful coercion sufficient to set aside a verdict under the Smith v Western Australia framework — the line between robust debate and unlawful coercion requires objectively established unlawful behaviour extrinsic to the jury process. Where a s 73A investigation reveals allegations of racist or derogatory comments by jurors that have not been investigated, the Court of Criminal Appeal may order a further circumscribed investigation under s 73A to determine what was actually said. The proper source of power for ordering such an investigation is s 73A of the Jury Act 1977 (NSW), not s 12 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1912 (NSW).
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