Ride the Lightning
Cybersecurity and Future of Law Practice Blog
by Sharon D. Nelson Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
Google and Social Media Playing Havoc With Juries
December 14, 2010
A recent Reuters Legal analysis of juror misconduct involving Google and social media is alarming, to say the least. Since 1999, at least 90 verdicts have been overturned or new trials granted, more than half of those in the last two years. In three quarters of the cases where judges declined to declare mistrials, they nonetheless found juror misconduct.
The article is well worth reading, especially because it includes some of the current horror stories from 2010.
Across the country, courts are adopting new, more specific jury instructions, but (I think) to little avail. As long as jurors have the ability to connect to the Internet by using computers or smartphones, it is my suspicion that the temptation to tweet, post or research is just too great for many jurors.
Some experts are suggesting that we simply help jurors to be more responsible. Not sure that's going to work all that well. In a world where jurors 'friend' each other while deliberating and discuss the trial on Facebook, we're got a major wrinkle in the jury system.
Not only do we need innovative solutions to this problem, we may need serious consequences for jurors who misbehave. How many mistrials can the system afford before the burden of jury misconduct becomes crushing?
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