Juror Misconduct and Rule of Evidence 606

Juror misconduct can be hard to prove and hard for a judge to rule on. South Carolina Rule of Evidence 606 specifically addresses the issue of jury deliberations and being inquired into:

The purpose of this rule is to try and ensure finality in jury verdicts. However, in this recent SC Supreme Court case, Ethier v. Fairfield Memorial, the court held that the juror’s misconduct in this trial affected the fundamental unfairness of the trial, i.e., premature deliberations.