backbencher and lawyer claimed yesterday.

And Government is discussing action to address the problem, Mr. Rick Spurling MP told The Royal Gazette .

Jury tampering and bribery have received little publicity in Bermuda, but "I'm quite convinced that that kind of thing is happening, in particular in drug trials'', he said.

Drug pushers have "lots of money'' to spend defending themselves, and Mr.

Spurling believes they have used some of it to bribe jurors. Acquittals in drug trafficking trials appeared "abnormally high'', he added.

"People tell me of situations where people on a jury, for no logical reason, vote to acquit a particular accused when the evidence is quite strong to convict,'' Mr. Spurling said.

And there was no hint of intimidation or threats, he said.

Mr. Spurling also believes jurors sometimes vote to acquit out of concern for the family of the accused, should he be sent to jail.

To do away with the use of juries in drug trials was "probably a bit extreme'', Mr. Spurling said. But such a move was "a possibility, if we can't get them to work properly''.

A better idea might be to give juries "more guidance'', and beef up the laws to protect them from threats, bribes, and intimidation, he said. In additon to stiffer penalties, new offences might have to be created, he said.

Mr. Spurling said he felt Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan's recent comments about addressing Bermuda's crime problem by doing away with the presumption of innocence were made "in the heat of discussion'', and were mainly intended to provoke community response.

But some aspects of Bermuda's legal system, including juries, need to be looked at, he said.

He did not feel a return to the birch was called for, though a curfew was worth considering.

"Some of these measures, like arrest and hold powers, are the type of thing you would do in a war situation, or a state of anarchy,'' he said.