Bloomberg Law
Jan. 23, 2023, 9:11 PM

Attorney Must Face Two-Year Ban Over Juror Contact Instructions

David McAfee
David McAfee
Staff Correspondent

A criminal defense lawyer failed to convince the Delaware Supreme Court on Monday to overturn a two-year suspension for authorizing a private investigator to contact a juror without court permission.

Delaware’s top court held that Andre Beauregard violated multiple rules in the course of allowing O’Rourke Investigative Associates to contact a juror after a murder trial, for the purpose of looking into a potential relationship between the juror and Beauregard’s client’s co-defendant. The client, Ahmir Bailey, was seeking a new trial based on that connection.

Beauregard retained ORIA, which sought approval and payment for interviewing 22 individuals who were “mutual ...