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New Model Jury Instruction Takes Aim at Twittering Jurors

By Bruce Carton

After fifty 'leven recent examples of trials being upended by jurors improperly using their cell phones, computers, Twitter or other communications technologies during jury service, a committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States has had enough. The Blog of the Legal Times' Marcia Coyle reports in this post that the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management has endorsed a set of model jury instructions for district judges to help deter jurors from engaging in such mischief. In a memorandum to district court judges, Judge Julie Robinson, the committee chair, wrote that the model instructions were developed to address the increasing incidence of jurors using such technology to conduct research on the Internet or communicate with others about cases, which has "resulted in mistrials, exclusion of jurors, and imposition of fines.? There is still no uniform standard for jurors in state trials, the BLT reports. The model instructions include the following key points: During Trial: "...you should not consult dictionaries or reference materials, search the internet, websites, blogs, or use any other electronic tools to obtain information about this case or to help you decide the case. Please do not try to find out information from any source...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on February 09, 2010 (boomark / email).