Jury Act 1977

If there is reason (including a report under section 75C) to suspect that the trial of any criminal proceedings may be, or may have been, affected because of improper conduct by a juror, or improper conduct by another person in relation to a juror, the sheriff may, with the consent of or at the request of the Supreme Court or District Court, investigate the matter and report to the court on the outcome of the investigation.

Section 68A (1) does not prohibit the sheriff from soliciting information from a juror or former juror for the purpose of conducting such an investigation.

Section 68B (1) does not prohibit a juror from disclosing information to the sheriff in connection with such an investigation.

Section 139 (2) of the Evidence Act 1995 applies in relation to any questioning conducted by the sheriff for the purpose of an investigation under this section (in the same way as it applies to official questioning by an investigating official).

The sheriff may, despite sections 29 and 68, include a juror’s name or other matter that identifies a juror in a report to the court under this section.