Failure to Poll Jurors in SEC Civil Case Warrants New Trial

A man found to have violated federal securities law in a civil jury trial will get a retrial because the judge refused his request to poll each juror, a federal appeals court ruled.

A party in a civil trial who has been denied the right to poll the individual jurors doesn’t need to show prejudice, but is automatically entitled to a new trial, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled Tuesday in a case of first impression.

The long-recognized standard of per se reversible error for polling errors in criminal cases applies as well in civil cases, ...