Caroline Mitchell

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Caroline Mitchell, an experienced solicitor, served as a juror in a historical sexual abuse trial. Despite repeated judicial warnings against independent research, she searched Rightmove for the property in question, found floor plan dimensions of a neighbouring property, took a screenshot and shared it with a fellow juror. The jury was discharged and the trial aborted. She pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court to intentionally disclosing information to jury members contrary to the Juries Act 1974 and was sentenced to two months' imprisonment (serving four weeks). She admitted breaching Principles 1, 2 and 5. The Tribunal found the allegation proved, made no express finding of dishonesty, and suspended her for 8 years (partly reflecting her 10-year jury disqualification) with costs of £5,000.

Duties found breached:

• Integrity
• Uphold public trust in the profession
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank

Aggravating factors:

• Criminal conviction under the Juries Act 1974 with an immediate custodial sentence
• Material breach of obligation to protect the public and reputation of the profession
• Consequences reasonably foreseeable
• Caused significant harm to witnesses and the reputation of the profession, requiring the trial to be re-run and complainant/defendant to give evidence twice

Mitigating factors:

• Voluntary notification to the regulator
• Single episode of brief duration in an otherwise unblemished career
• Open and frank admissions and early guilty plea in criminal court
• Genuine insight and remorse
• No dishonesty
• No personal financial gain
• Effectively self-suspended for 18 months
• Strong personal character and testimonials