Juries

Understand Your Jurors’ Online Reality

Dr. Ken Broda-Bahn has written an excellent review of a recent article I wrote (Social Media, the Internet, and Trial by Jury) about the current state of research on jurors and the Internet.  In his review, Dr. Broda-Bahn notes the challenges of determining the pervasiveness of online juror misconduct stating that estimates "need to be taken with a grain of salt because the same social desirability bias that limits the reliability of answers in voir dire also limits ability to collect data on this question of whether jurors are violating the rules."  To read his review in entirety go here.

Judge Prevents Defense Attorney from Using Social Media to Research Jurors

The vast majority of judges in this country allow attorneys to use social media to research jurors. Now, a particular judge may place some type of  stipulation on the research such as the attorney must share it with opposing counsel and or give jurors prior notice that research will occur.  However, it is the rare instance where any attorney gets completely shutdown which is what occurred here.  What is even more rare is that this is the second time, that I know of, for criminal defense attorney, Andrew Jezic.  5 years earlier a different judge told him that he could not research jurors. 

Gazette.Net: Montgomery judge denies Internet searches for jury selection

HeraldMedia.com: Judge denies defense request to research jurors on social media in murder case

Juror's Facebook Post Leads to Civil Suit by Criminal Defendant

A Mississippi juror, Ashley Parnell, who sat on the manslaughter trial of Carmon Brannan, a prison nurse, is now being sued for defamation by the nurse.  The civil suit arises from comments that Ms. Parnell made on Facebook about the case.  Approximately six months prior to the start of trial, the local newspaper ran a story about the nurse withdrawing her guilty plea.  This apparently upset Ms. Parnell who took to Facebook to voice her displeasure.

“If she would have done her job, Joel would still be alive today!! So yes, she is guilty of murder. He was her responsibility as long as he was in jail and was responsible for her checking his sugar and administering his medication and bc (because) she ... (failed) to do her job he died. So hell yeah, she’s GUILTY. It doesn’t take a genius to see this!!!”

The case went to trial some 6 months after the Facebook post in January and resulted in a 11-1 verdict. Surprisingly, Ms. Parnell, despite making the Facebook post, was allowed to sit as a juror. After the hung jury, Ms. Brannan brought her civil suit claiming among other things that because of the post by Ms. Parnell she suffers from emotional distress, headaches, anxiety and sleepless nights. Ms. Brannan also claims that the post damaged her personal and professional reputation.

Ms. Brannan is scheduled for retrial on the manslaughter charges in July in a different county based on the defendant's change of venue request. 

Government Uses Jury Consultant in Noor Salman Prosecution

Apparently, private practitioners are not the only ones investigating jurors today.  According to the article below, the U.S. Attorney's Office, which is prosecuting Noor Salman, widow of Pulse nightclub gunman Omar Mateen, for obstruction and aiding and abetting, has requested permission to disclose the confidential names of prospective jurors to a consulting firm and its subcontractors. It appears that the government will use jury consultants "to assist with the review of the jury questionnaires and intend[s] to use the firm to conduct searches of public records and social media of the remaining jurors."  As I have written in the past, juror investigations are becoming increasingly common.  While I don't think they are required, they have become almost standard practice for many attorneys.

Orland.com: Jury consultants tapped for Noor Salman trial

Impact of Technology on Jury Selection

The article below looks at the different ways technology has impacted jury selection.  Specifically, the article looks at apps for striking and challenging jurors, methods of researching jurors online, and programs to track the facial expressions of jurors.

Legaltechnews: Jury's Still Out: 3 Ways Technology is Trying to Aid in Jury Selection

Social Media and Jury Selection

The article below provides a good overview of how different jurisdictions address the issue of attorneys using social media to investigate jurors.  I have written on the topic extensively here and here.  However, if you want a quick snapshot of the current state of the law on social media and jury selection read this article.

Law.com: Should You 'Facebook' the Jury? Yes. No. Probably.

Jury Research Rules in the Eastern District Court of Texas

Unlike many other jurisdictions, the United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas has some very extensive rules about researching jurors. Fortunately, the folks at Courtroom Logic blog have created a primer to explain them.

'Juror' Blog Posts During and After Trial Lead to Evidentiary Hearing (U.S. v. Mark Zimny)

'Juror' Blog Posts During and After Trial Lead to Evidentiary Hearing (U.S. v. Mark Zimny)

In U.S. v. Mark Zimny, a jury found the defendant, Mark J. Zimny (Zimny), guilty of five counts of wire fraud, five counts of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions, two counts of filing false tax returns, and one count of bank fraud. Zimny appealled, raising several arguments. The First Court of Appeals addressed only one of those arguments: that the district court's inquiry into Zimny's claims of juror misconduct (blogging) was inadequate. The court agreed with Zimny and remanded for an evidentiary hearing, leaving for another day the other issues that Zimny raised.

Here is the alleged juror post that most directly led to the evidentiary hearing

Boy this is getting comical. I've been following it on and off, and was also on the jury. Mama June, and those who were there know what I'm talking about,[5] was spouting about the "shots in the dark" blog since day one. Its [sic] why she conveniently got 'sick' and didn't finish her service. Several other jurors told her to stfu[6] and got annoyed. '[I]diot' doesent [sic] describe the half of it.

According to the First Circuit Court of Appeals,

...the additional juror comment raised a colorable claim of juror misconduct: that, contrary to Juror No. 8's testimony, she discussed the blog post with other jurors.

 

Caught on Tape: Is slow-motion video biasing jurors?

ABA Journal: Caught on Tape: Is slow-motion video biasing jurors?

The use of slow-motion video has become common in criminal cases. But a new study has found that watching crimes at slower speeds leads viewers to falsely believe perps have more time to think about their actions and act with intent, potentially skewing verdicts against defendants.

Jurors and Facebook

USA Today: Juror's Facebook posts risk $2M verdict against officer

MILWAUKEE — A juror's posts on Facebook during a federal civil rights trial he was hearing could jeopardize a nearly $2 million verdict awarded to a man who claimed he was illegally strip searched by a former Milwaukee police officer....