The Runaway Jury

The Runaway Jury is a captivating thriller by John Grisham who is well known for his legal thrillers, particularly The Pelican Brief, The Client, and A Time to Kill. Many of his novels have been turned into films, securing his place as a highly successful crime writer. The Runaway Jury explores the theme of jury corruption during a high-profile tobacco trial.

In a small town in Mississippi, Celeste Wood, widow of a lifelong smoker, is suing a tobacco company for his premature death at age fifty-three. Big tobacco goes on the defense, joining together because a bad verdict for one could mean legal action against all of them.

Pynex, the tobacco company, hires Rankin Fitch as a consultant. A shady character, Fitch coerces jury members, breaking a slew of laws along the way, to side with the tobacco companies. As the jury is selected, the experts analyze every detail of their lives to ensure they will have a pool of people who will side with tobacco. However, Juror #2, Nicholas Easter, slips through; he has some ulterior motives. Nicholas Easter is an enigma; the lawyers can’t dig up much information about him. All they really know is that he is a part-time student who works in a computer store. Once Nicholas is selected, he can put his master plan into motion.



As the case progresses, Fitch develops a plan to coerce each juror into delivering a “not guilty” verdict: Millie Dupree would be blackmailed, since he has a tape of her husband trying to bribe an official. Lonnie Rikki Coleman would be blackmailed by informing her husband of her previous abortion.

Nicholas Easter and his partner, Marlee, develop a plan to win over the jury. Working his charm on each jury member, Easter eventually becomes jury foreman by spiking the coffee of the previous juror.

Meanwhile, Marlee contacts Fitch to inform him what is happening behind the jury doors – Easter is in complete control of the jury and in a position of extreme power. She demands that Fitch pay a $10 million ransom in exchange for a not guilty verdict.



Fitch tries in vain to find information about Marlee to ensure that this is a black-and-white money grab. Unable to find any background information on her, he eventually agrees to the ransom demand. The money is moved offshore, and only after this does Fitch discover the truth about Marlee: her parents both died due to smoking. She is not simply a mercenary, but an anti-smoking advocate. Fitch fears that not only has he lost $10 million, but also the jury will deliver a guilty verdict anyway.

Back in the jury room, Easter convinces the jury to deliver a guilty verdict and deliver over $400 million in damages. Easter gets nine out of twelve jurors to support this motion, enough for a civil case.

The twists don’t end with the verdict. Because Marlee knows that big tobacco is about to take a huge hit, she short-sells her stock. Sure enough, when the stocks plummet, she makes a massive fortune.



The book concludes as Marlee returns the initial $10 million bribe to Fitch. She warns him that she and Easter will always be watching.