Clint Eastwood’s production of Juror No. 2 is somewhat of a poor man’s "Twelve Angry Men"—the heralded film of long ago when one conscientious juror (Henry Fonda) persuades the remaining jurors and turns an all-but-certain murder conviction into the defendant’s acquittal – although not here. Everything in "Twelve," though, took place in the jury room. In "Juror No. 2" there are many twists and turns inside and outside the courthouse and the jury room—and juror misconduct all around.

But this is a legal ethics column, not a movie review. I promise, however, that what follows here won’t spoil it for the reader who plans to see the movie—the key facts discussed below occur in the film’s first few minutes before you will even start eating your popcorn.