Evidence Act 2006

Trial process - Eligibility and compellability

76: Evidence of jury deliberations

You could also call this:

"What jurors talk about is secret and cannot be shared"

You cannot give evidence about what a jury discussed when they were deciding a case. This means you cannot tell anyone what the jury talked about when they were making their decision. You can talk about other things that are not part of the jury's discussion.

You can give evidence about things that do not involve the jury's discussions, such as whether a juror was competent or if a juror did something that meant they should not have been on the jury. The Judge will decide if you can give evidence about the jury's discussions in very exceptional circumstances. The Judge must think carefully about whether allowing this evidence will help justice be done.

When the Judge is deciding, they must consider two important things: protecting the secrecy of jury discussions and making sure justice is done in the case. They have to weigh these two things against each other to make a decision. This helps the Judge decide what is the right thing to do in a difficult situation.

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This page was last updated on 29 June 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM393903.

Topics:

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Part 3Trial process
Eligibility and compellability

76Evidence of jury deliberations

A person must not give evidence about the deliberations of a jury.
Subsection (1) does not prevent the giving of evidence about matters that do not form part of the deliberations of a jury, including (without limitation)—
the competency or capacity of a juror; or
any conduct of, or knowledge gained by, a juror that is believed to disqualify that juror from holding that position.

Subsection (1) does not prevent a person from giving evidence about the deliberations of a jury if the Judge is satisfied that the particular circumstances are so exceptional that there is a sufficiently compelling reason to allow that evidence to be given.
In determining, under subsection (3), whether to allow evidence to be given in any proceedings, the Judge must weigh—
the public interest in protecting the confidentiality of jury deliberations generally:
the public interest in ensuring that justice is done in those proceedings.