Detectives on the Jury

An oil executive was on trial alongside a former cabinet officer on conspiracy charges arising from leases of the government's naval oil reserves. While the trial was under way he directed that private detectives be hired to shadow the jurors. About fifteen operatives followed jurors from early morning until late at night and filed daily reports, although none of them ever spoke to a juror. He, two men from the detective agency and an associate were charged with criminal contempt of court. The defence argued that no juror was ever approached or influenced, and that merely watching people as they went about in public could not amount to obstructing justice.