History Main / RogueJuror

* A ''SpiderMan'' story from the late '80s involved a jury deliberating over the fate of an accused criminal apprehended by Spider-Man. Making matters problematic is the holdout juror is Mary Jane Watson-Parker... Spider-Man's wife!

* How the movie ''Film/ErnestGoesToJail'' starts out. A henchman of bank robber Felix Nash realizes that one of the jurors on his murder trial, Ernest Warrell, looks exactly like his boss. He arranges for the jurors to visit the prison where the crime was committed, after which Nash knocks out Ernest and changes places. After that, Nash insists on finding his henchman innocent, keeping the henchman from getting his sentence upped to life, and then Nash walks out of the courthouse a free man, leaving Ernest in jail to serve out Nash's sentence (of death).

Note that in many jurisdictions, a unanimous jury verdict is not required to convict or acquit. Though unanimity is a characteristic of the English judicial system and many of its former colonies like the United States. Outside those countries, a rogue juror's objection would be futile.

* The TropeCodifier is ''Film/TwelveAngryMen''. A rogue juror (#8) is the sole holdout [[NotablyQuickDeliberation on a case which appears to indicate]] that the accused is definitely a murderer. However, as the jury is forced to analyze the evidence in detail, they slowly discover that almost all of it is flawed in some way. Worth noting that, unlike some other examples, the rogue juror isn't convinced of the suspect's innocence either; he just wants to make sure they've done their job properly, as the accused is facing a mandatory death sentence. It leaves the question of the suspect's guilt or innocence ambiguous in the end. However, because there was reasonable doubt, a verdict of "not guilty" is appropriate.[[note]]Interestingly, while #8 is trying to get everyone else to do their job properly, he is not. Conducting your own investigation and bringing a weapon into the jury room are both serious juror misconduct. This leads to a bit of ValuesDissonance between laypeople and legal professionals watching the same film[=/=]play.[[/note]]
** Towards the end of the film, Juror #3 becomes this for the other side, after all the other jurors have decided there's enough doubt that they can't justify a guilty verdict.

* Pavel Young's court martial in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' novel ''Field of Dishonor'' has White Haven (the senior admiral of the jury) accuse ''half the jury'' of acting like this for political reasons, at which point the lowest ranking officer there turns around and accuses him right back. Eventually, one of the dissenting admirals negotiates a political compromise and agrees to vote with White Haven (breaking the deadlock 4-2) to convict on the lesser charges, provided they remain hung on the capital ones, resulting in Young's dishonorable discharge and setting the stage for the second half of the book. The other two never change their votes. Though since it's a military tribunal, the simple majority is enough.

* On ''Theatre/TheOddCouple'' Felix and Oscar tell the Pigeon sisters how they met during jury duty, with Felix in the rogue juror role. Though the defendant was innocent, he was, after the trial, driven to actually commit the violent assault he had been falsely accused of after being trapped in an elevator with Felix. Interestingly, Jack Klugman [[ActorAllusion had played a juror]] in the original ''Film/TwelveAngryMen'' movie (And Jack Lemmon, who played Felix in the 1967 film version, went on to play the rogue in the 1997 ''Film/TwelveAngryMen'' remake, an odd bit of synchronicity).

* ''Series/{{Monk}}'' in the episode "[[Recap/MonkS4E16MrMonkGetsJuryDuty Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty]]". [[spoiler:And done deliberately by another juror -- she was only there to prolong the trial until she could help another defendant escape, so she looked over the shoulder of the juror next to her and voted the opposite way. As it happened, the person next to her was Monk, the only "not guilty" vote, so she ended up voting the same way as the other ten jurors.]]

* Unusually done with ''Series/BlueBloods'' in the fourth season episode "Justice Done" when Danny Regan, a detective, is the sole holdout for a "not guilty" verdict in a murder trial because he notes how flimsy some of the evidence is and how bad the eye-witness testimony was. When he is identified as the Commissioner's son and how he should follow his father's policy on tough justice by another juror, the trial is tossed and the other investigating detectives are none too happy with this. So it becomes Danny's case to solve.

* In many cases in US law, a hung jury (which can result from a single dissenter) doesn't result in retrial, meaning that in theory a rogue juror can result in a ''de facto'' (if not quite ''de jure'') acquittal, since anything that isn't a conviction in the USA is legally equivalent to innocence. Then again, a hung jury also technically doesn't ''prevent'' a retrial, since a hung jury generally results in a mistrial, and thus does not fall under the constitutional restrictions against double jeopardy.

* In ''Series/{{Shameless}}'', Frank Gallagher becomes one when he discovers he can claim extra benefits as long as he is on jury service. From that point onward, he tries to drag the deliberation out for as long as possible, continually reversing his opinion whenever he cleverly convinces everyone to see things his way.

* One episode of ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey'' had Eugene on jury duty refusing to convict the defendant until after they discussed the evidence to be sure. The defendant is accused of breaking into a house and robbing its vault, but claims that he only broke into the house to be admitted into a gang and they framed him for the robbery. The jury eventually agrees that he is telling the truth because he would not have had enough time to break into the vault during the times between when he was seen on day the crime took place.

* An episode of ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' has Phoebe do this after her magical power (seeing visions of the past or future) reveals that the defendant is actually innocent of the murder in question. Unable to convince the other jurors by normal means, she [[spoiler: summons the victim's spirit to tell them the real culprit, and then gives the others LaserGuidedAmnesia after the trial]].

* An episode of ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey'' features Eugene in this role (and Bernard as the foreman; it was Eugene's idea, with the other jurors going along with it to get things moving along and he's not happy). The trial is about whether or not the defendant broke into a house and robbed a safe in said house, with him admitting to using a key to enter the house while the family was out but insisting he didn't steal a thing. Eventually the guy who's adamant that the kid did it reveals that he has a personal grudge against the kid despite saying he didn't know him on his form for participation. This leads to a mistrial though the notes Eugene provides of the deliberation he participated in are stated to give the kid a better chance at a fair trial next time around.

* An episode of ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' has Phoebe do this after her magical power (seeing visions of the past or future) reveals that the defendant is actually innocent of the murder in question. Unable to convince the other jurors by normal means, she [[summon the victim's spirit to tell them the real culprit, and then gives the others LaserGuidedAmnesia after the trial]].

* A ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comic once had Bruce Wayne selected to sit on the jury of a man whom he, as Batman, had arrested trying to kidnap a wealthy couple's baby. As the rest of the jury were taken in by the defendant's innocent act, he had to convince them that the defendant was actually ''guilty''. Contained an amusing moment where Bruce, honestly answering a jury selection question about whether he was fit to sit on the jury, [[SarcasticConfession confessed]] that he was prejudiced about the case because he was actually Batman -- and after everyone stopped laughing, the judge told him to stop jerking around and take things seriously.
* One of the ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' comics (the Blue King run, not the Top Cow run) throws superpowers into this mix, with Apex appointed to the superpowered jury, when a superhero stands accused of second-degree murder -- and naturally, he has to face a jury of his peers. Needless to say, the case does NOT go smoothly...

* The TropeCodifier is ''Film/TwelveAngryMen''. A rogue juror (#8) is the sole holdout [[NotablyQuickDeliberation on a case which appears to indicate fairly straightforwardly]] that the accused is definitely a murderer. However, as the jury is forced to analyze the evidence in detail, they slowly discover that almost all of it is flawed in some way. Worth noting that, unlike some other examples, the rogue juror isn't convinced of the accused's innocence either; he just wants to make sure they've done their job properly, as the accused is facing a mandatory death sentence. It leaves the question of the accused's guilt or innocence ambiguous in the end. However, because there was reasonable doubt, a verdict of "not guilty" is appropriate.[[note]]Interestingly, while #8 is trying to get everyone else to do their job properly, he is not. Conducting your own investigation and bringing a weapon into the jury room are both serious juror misconduct. This leads to a bit of ValuesDissonance between laypeople and legal professionals watching the same film[=/=]play.[[/note]]

* The TropeCodifier is ''Film/TwelveAngryMen''. A rogue juror (#8) is the sole holdout on a case which appears to indicate fairly straightforwardly that the accused is definitely a murderer. However, as the jury is forced to analyze the evidence in detail, they slowly discover that almost all of it is flawed in some way. Worth noting that, unlike some other examples, the rogue juror isn't convinced of the accused's innocence either; he just wants to make sure they've done their job properly, as the accused is facing a mandatory death sentence. It leaves the question of the accused's guilt or innocence ambiguous in the end. However, because there was reasonable doubt, a verdict of "not guilty" is appropriate.[[note]]Interestingly, while #8 is trying to get everyone else to do their job properly, he is not. Conducting your own investigation and bringing a weapon into the jury room are both serious juror misconduct. This leads to a bit of ValuesDissonance between laypeople and legal professionals watching the same film[=/=]play.[[/note]]

->''"Boy, oh boy, there's always one."''

* ''Series/{{Monk}}'' in the episode "Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty". [[spoiler:And done deliberately by another juror -- she was only there to prolong the trial until she could help another defendant escape, so she looked over the shoulder of the juror next to her and voted the opposite way. As it happened, the person next to her was Monk, the only "not guilty" vote, so she ended up voting the same way as the other ten jurors.]]

* Twisted to hell and back in a strip of ''Webcomic/SuperStupor'', where it's 11 jurors scared that the supervillain on trial will kill them if he's found guilty...and the 12th, an ex-supervillain who convinces them otherwise...because [[DeathSeeker he wants to die]].

* An episode of ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' had Phoebe on a jury receive a vision of someone other than the defendant committing the crime. After unsuccessfully attempting to convince them by normal means, she proceeds to [[spoiler:use magic to summon the victim, and then memory dust to make them forget it]].

* On one episode of ''Series/{{Quincy}}'', the titular character found himself on a jury in an apparently open and shut murder case and proceeded to annoy everyone by continually asking questions about the evidence (and deducing the real killer, of course). This also doubles as an ActorAllusion -- Jack Klugman (Quincy) starred as Juror #5 in the 1957 movie version of ''Film/TwelveAngryMen''.

* One episode of ''Series/{{CSI}}'' has the holdout on a jury found dead. The suspicion is that he was murdered to end the deadlock, when in truth [[spoiler:he was stung by a bee that had flown into the jury room through an open window and died from a massive allergic reaction]].

* In ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'', Atticus Finch's beliefs and Scout's actions caused one of the jurors to greatly lengthen the process of the trial of a black man that Atticus was defending. The man was eventually found guilty because the rogue had no chance of convincing the other jurors of changing their minds. It is reasonable to assume that the rogue may have gotten death threats.

* ''Series/{{Monk}}'' in the episode "Mr. Monk Gets Jury Duty". [[spoiler: And done deliberately by another juror--she was only there to prolong the trial until she could help another defendant escape, so she looked over the shoulder of the juror next to her and voted the opposite way. As it happened, the person next to her was Monk, the only "not guilty" vote, so she ended up voting the same way as the other ten jurors.]]

* One episode of ''Series/{{CSI}}'' has the holdout on a jury found dead. The suspicion is that he was murdered to end the deadlock, when in truth [[spoiler:he was stung by a bee that had flown into the jury room through an open window and died from a massive allergic reaction.]]
* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in the ''Series/VeronicaMars'' episode "[[Recap/VeronicaMarsS02E10OneAngryVeronica One Angry Veronica]]," where Veronica is forewoman of a jury and one member is the single holdout for a ''guilty'' verdict. Over the course of the episode the jurors find additional information which does, in fact, point the finger at the defendants; eventually, there is only one holdout for not guilty, who agrees to vote guilty because he's sure the defendants will get off on appeal.

* On one episode of ''Series/{{Quincy}}'', the titular character found himself on a jury in an apparently open and shut murder case and proceeded to annoy everyone by continually asking questions about the evidence (and deducing the real killer, of course). This also doubles as an ActorAllusion - Jack Klugman (Quincy) starred as Juror #5 in the 1957 movie version of ''Film/TwelveAngryMen''.

-->"Well, Foster SAID he didn't do it. Are you calling him--AND his attorney--a liar?!"

* In ''Series/FamilyMatters'', Steve and Carl wind up on the same jury. Steve believes the defendant to be innocent; Carl and the other jurors are sure the guy is guilty, as his face shows up clearly in security camera footage. Steve proceeds to prove his case by [[spoiler:taking a blow-up of a frame of footage in which the real criminal's face is seen in a reflection; the defendant's face had been edited in, but he hadn't reckoned on someone checking that closely.]]
* Leslie Knope on ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' goes rogue as a member of a beauty contest judging panel. She wants to give the award to a talented girl who does a lot of charity work, while everyone else wants to give it to a super-hot giggling moron.

* Subverted in ''Series/PeepShow'', in which Jez starts dating the defendant and convinces the fellow jury members that she is innocent, but after discovering that she actually gets into fights for fun he decides he doesn't want to go out with her any more and convinces them back to the guilty verdict... Double subverted in fact in that the defendant really is innocent of that specific crime but has committed several more along the same lines and got away with it.

* In ''Series/EarlyEdition'' Gary tries to avoid getting on a jury because of his ability to get tomorrow's newspaper, however he ends up on the jury anyway. He finds out that the man everyone believes is guilty has been framed (and hangs himself after the guilty verdict) and tries to prove his innocence, to everyone else's annoyance.
* In one episode of ''Series/MurderSheWrote'', Jessica is forewoman in a murder trial. Her fellow jurors are generally sure that the defendant is guilty, while Jessica asks them to take some time to review the facts. In a semoi-subversion of the usual plot, [[spoiler:the jury acquits, because while the defendant did commit murder (disguised as an accident), he is not guilty of ''the murder he's on trial for,'' and convicting would've allowed the real killer to go free.]]

* ''Series/DoogieHowserMD'' had "Eleven Angry People...and Vinnie" where in a take on ''12 Angry Men,'' the defendant is a young man accused of assaulting his employer. Vinnie's not convinced of his guilt.

* One episode of the live-action ''Series/{{Batman}}'' show had Batman (for some unexplained reason - he might know a lot about the law, but he never took the bar exam, nor does he work for the D.A.'s office) acting as the prosecutor in a trial against Joker and Catwoman. The whole jury voted not guilty despite the evidence, at which point Robin realized that Joker's lawyer had managed to get the entire jury filled with ex-henchmen of the two criminals. Batman and Robin beat up the crooks, and the trial gets redone. This ignores the fact that both sides of a judicial case are supposed to be screening the jury to ensure that the jurors aren't prejudiced ''before'' the trial even begins, and a provable close association with the defendants is an automatic disqualification.

* Played by ''Series/{{Castle}}'' in a case where a juror is poisoned; he's killed before deliberations start, but it's revealed that he managed to get himself placed on the jury in the first place in order so that he could act as one of these. [[spoiler: Specifically, he knows that the defendant didn't commit the crime because his brother was with the person who did at the time, but while he doesn't want to throw his brother to the wolves he can't in good conscience let an innocent man go to jail for it.]]
* On ''Series/RepublicOfDoyle'' Jake serves on a jury in the trial of a woman accused of killing her husband. He is the only one who believes her to be innocent and resorts to his regular antics to stall the deliberations and conduct his own investigation. The judge lets him get away with a lot because the courthouse is being renovated and there is a massive backlog of cases so he does not want to declare a mistrial and have another trial. However, [[spoiler: he finally throws Jake off the jury when presented with definite evidence of misconduct: Jake stole the judge's cell phone to make a call while sequestered.]] In the end [[spoiler: it turns out it was actually a suicide and the jury foreman was also a rogue juror who was trying to get a publishing deal.]]
* ''Series/LasVegas'': Ed Deline, a casino security expert, plays this role in "Tainted Love". He's called for jury duty, but before the deliberation by the jury even begins, he already openly notes many discrepancies in the prosecution's case (for which he is almost held in contempt of court), and even investigates the case himself during his off-time (Note that doing this - even by so much as looking up the legal definitions of the charges - is illegal). He discovers that the suspect is innocent, but the judge orders him not to use any of the new evidence that he obtained in his judgment. So instead he proves to the other jurors that the guy is innocent by noting that he is left-handed, while the real perpetrator would have to be right-handed to commit the crime the way the photos show. He tells his wife the reason why he went out of his way to help the kid; when Ed was a teenager, he was caught for stealing hubcaps. Even though he actually committed the crime, a single juror simply refused to find him guilty because he wanted to give Ed a second chance.

* A 2015 episode of ''Inside Amy Schumer'' parodies ''Film/TwelveAngryMen'' virtually shot for shot, with the jurors deliberating over whether Schumer is "hot enough to be on television". [[spoiler: In TheStinger, Amy reminds the judge she was actually on trial for vehicular manslaughter.]]
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''. In "Guilty" the latest number is a juror, so Team Machine assume this trope is in play. The Machine arranges for Harold Finch to be on the jury, and [[TheFixer Zoe Morgan]] spends a lot of time rehearsing him on how to sway a jury towards guilty, only to have an OhCrap moment when the juror immediately agrees with this verdict. So then Harold has to become the rogue juror, stalling for time until Team Machine can find out what's really going on.
* Implied on ''Series/TheSopranos'' when Uncle Junior is on trial. Some of June's associates find one of the jurors (buying candy for his son, no less) and gently inform him that [[TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive they know where he lives]]. In the next episode, the jury is hung with a single holdout, leading to a mistrial--and that poor juror is hated by all the others.

* Subverted in the webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Superosity}}''. Main character Chris (who is dating Arcadia, the defense attorney) is the only one who thinks a boy is innocent of murder. Then the defendant tells Arcadia he loves her and plans to kill Chris to get her out of the picture -- turns out he ''is'' innocent of this crime, "but not thousands of other murders". Arcadia gets Chris to vote guilty for his own good, but by this time the other jurors have changed their mind. Finally Chris appeals to the other juror's worst instincts, such as racism and the desire to be quoted in the newspaper, to get them to change their minds back, and when he succeeds he declares, "Yippee! The system works! Kinda!".
* Twisted to hell and back in a strip of ''Webcomic/SuperStupor'', where it's 11 jurors scared that the supervillain on trial will kill them if he's found guilty...and the 12th, an ex-supervillain who convinces them otherwise...because he wants to die.

* A memorable episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' featured this trope almost to the letter, where [[ButtMonkey Eugene]] was on trial for pulling the fire alarm (apparently the school rules state that he can only be expelled if found guilty by a jury of his peers), and Arnold (of course) is the only one who thinks he might be innocent and successively disproving the evidence against him. As it turns out, Eugene was framed by Curly, who, as a member of the jury, then proceeds to [[ThePerryMasonMethod flip out and confess to everything]], laughing maniacally all the time.

* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad.'' One of [[JerkAss Roger]]'s personas is on trial and despite the fact that it's blatantly obvious that he did it, he uses his charm to try and KarmaHoudini his way out of it. In this case, Stan is the Rogue Juror, in that he sees right through Roger's act and is sick and tired of him weaseling his way out of being accountable for his actions. In the end he gets the jury to convict, but '''everyone''', even the judge, is sobbing like a baby.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': In the episode "12 and a Half Angry Men", a WholePlotReference to ''Film/TwelveAngryMen'', Mayor Adam West is on trial for murdering an aide that was planning to blackmail him and despite Mayor West being covered in blood during a press conference and the knife used belonging to him, Brian votes not guilty. Eventually, he is able to convince everyone that Mayor West is innocent and he is exonerated. The episode's last scene reveals that West was in fact innocent and that the murder was the work of a serial killer. One that cuts the Griffins' power...

This is a common template for a CourtroomEpisode, and frequently turns up in {{Sitcom}}s.

* In many cases in US law, a hung jury (which can result from a single dissenter) doesn't result in retrial, meaning that in theory a rogue juror can result in a defacto (if not quite de jure) acquittal, since anything that isn't a conviction in the USA is legally equivalent to innocence.

Note that in many jurisdictions a unanimous jury verdict is not required to convict or acquit. Though unanimity is a characteristic of the English judicial system and many of its' former colonies like the United States. Outside those countries a rogue juror's objection would be futile.

* A ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comic once had Bruce Wayne selected to sit on the jury of a man whom he, as Batman, had arrested trying to kidnap a wealthy couple's baby. As the rest of the jury were taken in by the defendant's innocent act, he had to convince them that the defendant was actually ''guilty''. Contained an amusing moment where Bruce, honestly answering a jury selection question about whether he was fit to sit on the jury, [[SarcasticConfession confessed]] that he was prejudiced about the case because he was actually Batman - and after everyone stopped laughing, the judge told him to stop jerking around and take things seriously.
* One of the ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' comics (the Blue King run, not the Top Cow run) throws superpowers into this mix, with Apex appointed to the superpowered jury, when a superhero stands accused of second-degree murder - and naturally, he has to face a jury of his peers. Needless to say, the case does NOT go smoothly...
* A ''SpiderMan'' story from the late '80s involved a jury deliberating over the fate of an accused criminal apprehended by Spider-Man. Making matters problematic is the holdout juror is Mary Jane Watson-Parker...Spider-Man's wife!

* The TropeCodifier is ''Film/TwelveAngryMen''. A rogue juror (#8) is the sole holdout on a case which appears to indicate fairly straightforwardly that the accused is definitely a murderer. However, as the jury is forced to analyze the evidence in detail, they slowly discover that almost all of it is flawed in some way. Worth noting that, unlike some other examples, the rogue juror isn't convinced of the accused's innocence either; he just wants to make sure they've done their job properly, as the accused is facing a mandatory death sentence. It leaves the question of the accused's guilt or innocence ambiguous in the end. However, because there was reasonable doubt, a verdict of "not guilty" is appropriate.[[note]]Interestingly, while #8 is trying to get everyone else to do their job properly, he is not. Conducting your own investigation and bringing a weapon into the jury room are both serious juror misconduct. This leads to a bit of ValuesDissonance between lay people and legal professionals watching the same film / play.[[/note]]

* This happens offscreen at the beginning of the Literature/LordPeterWimsey novel ''Strong Poison''; Lord Peter's associate Miss Climpson is the jury holdout in the murder trial of Harriet Vane. This leads to a hung jury and a retrial, allowing Peter--[[LoveAtFirstSight who has fallen instantly in love with Harriet]]--time to find the evidence to clear her.

* Pavel Young's court martial in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' novel ''Field of Dishonor'' has White Haven (the senior admiral of the jury) accuse ''half the jury'' of acting like this for political reasons, at which point the lowest ranking officer there turns around and accuses him right back. Eventually, one of the dissenting admirals negotiates a political compromise and agrees to vote with White Haven (breaking the deadlock 4-2) to convict on the lesser charges, provided they remain hung on the capital ones, resulting in Young's dishonorable discharge and setting the stage for the second half of the book.. The other two never change their votes. Though since it's a military tribunal the simple majority is enough.

* ''Series/{{Newhart}}'' took a turn with this plot too.