a. Power of the Court. When the defendant has been found guilty or sentenced to death by a jury or by the court, the court on motion of the defendant, or on its own initiative with the consent of the defendant, may order a new trial or, in a capital case, an aggravation or penalty hearing.
b. Timeliness. A motion for a new trial shall be made no later than 10 days after the verdict has been rendered.
c. Grounds. The court may grant a new trial or aggravation or penalty hearing for any of the following reasons:
(1) The verdict is contrary to law or to the weight of the evidence;
(2) The prosecutor has been guilty of misconduct;
(3) A juror or jurors have been guilty of misconduct by:
(i) Receiving evidence not properly admitted during the trial or the aggravation or penalty hearing;
(ii) Deciding the verdict by lot;
(iii) Perjuring himself or herself or willfully failing to respond fully to a direct question posed during the voir dire examination;
(iv) Receiving a bribe or pledging his or her vote in any other way;
(v) Becoming intoxicated during the course of the deliberations; or
(vi) Conversing before the verdict with any interested party about the outcome of the case;
(4) The court has erred in the decision of a matter of law, or in the instruction of the jury on a matter of law to the substantial prejudice of a party;
(5) For any other reason not due to the defendant's own fault the defendant has not received a fair and impartial trial or capital sentencing.
d. Admissibility of Juror Evidence To Impeach the Verdict. Whenever the validity of a verdict is challenged under Rule 24.1(c)(3), the court may receive the testimony or affidavit of any witness, including members of the jury, which relates to the conduct of a juror, official of the court, or third person. No testimony or affidavit shall be received which inquires into the subjective motives or mental processes which led a juror to assent or dissent from the verdict.