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February 08, 2010

Comments

Timothy P. Flynn

This jury instruction is a very good idea. There is so much information at everyone's fingertips, literally. As a litigator, I want at least the ground rules, the concept, to be explained about how cases should be decided on the facts presented in court, not what a juror thinks about the subjects or the names involved in the case. Juror's could easily have their minds swayed by what's out there on the Internet. Also agree with the above comment that jurors must be instructed why they are restricted from accessing information about the case from outside the courtroom.

Rita Handrich

We have a thorough article in The Jury Expert that reviews what happens when the internet/social media come to court and recommendations on how to effectively minimize their intrusion. I think (like Steven Levy) we HAVE to educate jurors as to the WHY of these ideas to have them take the issue seriously.

See the Jury Expert article here: http://www.astcweb.org/public/publication/article.cfm/1/21/6/Why-Jurors-Turn-to-the-Internet

Lisa

I agree with the decision for no technology; while serving on a jury. The facts of the case should be presented in a court of law, and the juror should remain unbiased. With twitter, facebook, and others; how can a juror focus on the facts of the case.

Steven Levy

The problem with these model instructions is that they don't say why jurors shouldn't use these tools. If jurors don't understand, they'll think the restrictions silly and possibly ignore them -- and they'll continue to dislike serving as jurors.

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