Solo Practice

Juror Sues Judge, State of California, Facebook and Defendants Asserting Privacy Rights Concerning His Facebook Postings

By The Greatest American Lawyer

In a recent article called ?Juror?s Facebook Postings During Gang Trial Lead to Legal Morass & Suit Against Judge? on Courthousenews.com, a juror filed a federal lawsuit against California Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny for violating his privacy.  Here?s another case concerning the social media tool Facebook being used during a court proceeding.  However, in this instance, a juror allegedly posted comments on Facebook about evidence during the trial.  Here is what is stated in the complaint:

"During the criminal trial, while acting as jury foreperson, plaintiff posted on various occasions on his Facebook page to advise his friends that he was serving on jury duty. He occasionally posted updates that he was 'still' on jury duty and, on one occasion, posted a comment that he was bored during the presentation of cell phone record evidence."

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has adopted new rules regarding juror communication and the use of social media during the course of trial, as discussed in this previous post.  Is your state keeping up with technology? 

Related Stories:

• Judge Receives Reprimand for His Comments Made on FACEBOOK
• The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Adopts New Local Rules Addressing Jury Use of Social Media

Full post as published by The Greatest American Lawyer on February 21, 2011 (boomark / email).