At trial, while the defense counsel cross-examined a state trooper who testified that he had stopped a drunk driver, two jurors made audible comments disagreeing with the defense counsel's description of where the state trooper stood during the traffic stop. [Wonder what those comments included?] In response to these comments, the prosecutor, who was seated near the jury box, made a "thumbs up" gesture to the two jurors. The defense counsel objected to the communication between the jurors and the prosecutor.

Have you ever seen inadvertent, reactive mid-trial behavior that threatened the trial? For example, I recall a trial in Houston in which the prosecutor got in trouble for giving the defense the finger (hidden from the jury) in response to a particularly nasty argument.

For the case deciding whether it is wrong to give the jury a thumbs up signal, click here.