Jury Instructions: No Facebook, No Twitter, No Internet!
The courts have often had a hard time keeping up with the fast pace of ever-changing technology. The combination of mobile devices and social networking has created a new version of an old challenge. How do we make sure that jurors are deciding cases based on the evidence presented, and not based on their own research, when so many people are used to getting easy answers via a quick Google search?
Lawyer Harvey Levine thinks he has a solution:
“Jurors will have to sign declarations attesting that they will not use ‘personal electronic and media devices’ to research or communicate about any aspect of the case. That includes computers, cell phones and laptops. Jurors will have to sign the declarations, made under penalty of perjury, both before and after they serve.”
Levine is trying a wrongful death case against Entercom Communications. He wants to prevent jurors from making decisions based on the thousands of results for a Google search on phrases like “Jennifer Strange water intoxication.”
I thought this was already covered, that everyone knew that if you’re serving on a jury, you’re not supposed to do your own research, but rather confine your analysis of the case to the evidence and testimony presented in court. Judges already tell jurors what constitutes acceptable behavior via traditional jury instructions. However, it appears that some people aren’t getting it. Consider these recent cases of jury misconduct:
- 9 jurors in a federal drug case admit to doing their own research on the web, leaving the judge, William J. Zloch, no choice but to declare a mistrial.
- Jurors tweet updates like “I just gave away TWELVE MILLION DOLLARS of somebody else’s money” and “Stay tuned for a big announcement” from their mobile phones during trial.
- In England, a juror is dismissed after posting details of a child abduction and sexual assault case, and then holding a poll to help her decide whether the defendants were guilty or innocent.
It’s all right to bring your life experiences and knowledge into the courtroom, but it’s not acceptable to go outside the jury box and make your decision using information not presented during the trial. What do you think? Should judges have to stay informed about the latest social network technologies in order to specifically disallow them in jury instructions? Or do traditional warnings like “don’t talk to anyone about the trial until it’s over” cover it?
