Soo... Looks like a juror lied on the questionnaire about previous sexual abuse and he used own personal experience to break the deadlock.
Then dude goes on media to talk about it... lol. Dude seems like a clown and may jeopardize the conviction. Claims he didn't see the questions.... Whoops. Mark Geragos talks about it on his "Reasonable Doubt" podcast and that's there potentially some criminal liability for juror, though unlikely.
Earlier Wednesday, federal prosecutors in New York asked a judge to oversee an inquiry after the juror granted multiple media interviews in the last two days that have raised questions about the integrity of jury selection.
The juror, identified using his first and middle names, Scotty David, told Reuters, the Daily Mail and The Independent that during jury deliberations he shared a personal experience of being sexually abused as a child when some of his fellow jurors questioned the accuracy of victim accounts.
The 35-year-old Manhattan resident said it helped convince skeptical jurors that the women could be believed.
The juror's disclosure in media interviews that he was a sexual abuse victim and that he used his story to influence deliberations "presents incontrovertible grounds for a new trial," Maxwell's defense team said in its court filing.
The defense called it "an issue of pressing importance."
Defense attorneys did not immediately respond to a request by ABC News for comment.
"If it wasn't disclosed, I think it's a serious problem," David Greenberger, an attorney with Bailey Duquette P.C. who was not involved in the case, told ABC News. "That's definitely a basis for a new trial motion or an appeal."
According to the Reuters report, the juror said he did not recall being asked about sexual abuse, but had he been he would have answered honestly.
"Assuming the accuracy of the reporting, the juror asserted that he 'flew through' the
prospective juror questionnaire and does not recall being asked whether he had been a victim of sexual abuse, but stated he 'would have answered honestly,'" the prosecutors' letter said.
More than 600 prospective jurors filled out questionnaires that asked about personal or family history with sexual abuse. A blank questionnaire posted to the court docket indicated the prospective jurors were asked the following:
"48. Have you or a friend or family member ever been the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault? (This includes actual or attempted sexual assault or other unwanted sexual advance, including by a stranger, acquaintance, supervisor, teacher, or family member.) _ Yes (self) _ Yes (friend or family member) _ No
48a. If yes, without listing names, please explain:
48b. If your answer to 48 was yes, do you believe that this would affect your ability to serve fairly and impartially as a juror in this case? _ Yes _ No
48c. If yes to 48b, please explain"