Tweeting in the Jury Box: A Danger to Fair Trials?

Tweeting in the Jury Box: A Danger to Fair Trials?

Jurors that want to do their own investigation is nothing new. After being involved in several hundred personal injury jury trials I have seen many jurors trying to do their own investigation. I have had jurors follow my client during recesses in the trial to see if they walk/limp in the same manner as they do in the courtroom. Jurors have gone to the scene of the accident to "check it out". I have even had jurors look up medical information in texts books. These were extraordinary acts and most jurors follow the judges instructions not to do their own investigation and decided the case based only on the admitted evidence.

The problem with controlling the jurors now is the ease of access to information and the expectation of immediate answers in the Internet age. During a brake or during deliberations a juror could "Google" a person or topic and have virtually unlimited information. Certainly much of the information obtained would not be legally admissible for a variety of reasons (hearsay, best evidence, improper opinion evidence, ect.).

So how should the Courts deal with these problems? I don't believe the usual admonitions are sufficient (just telling the jurors not to do it). At a minimum, once the court begins its jury charge all Cell phones, laptops and pdas should be held by the Court. Unfortunately, many deliberations take more than one day, so in an ideal world we could sequester deliberating juries, but in the financial times we live in this is not a realistic option.

Another more radical alternative (which I am not advocating) is making investigating an ongoing trial by jurors a crime, and to video the deliberations. Currently, deliberations are secret and the jury is free to do and say what they want only bound by the oath they have taken to decide the case based upon the evidence. If during deliberations a juror shared that they had done any independent investigation then they could be punished. This would open up its own set of problems in chilling open discourse during deliberations and inhibiting people from sitting on juries.

There is no easy answer to this question, which could change our 300 year old system of jurisprudence more than any other single factor.

Subin Associates, personal injury attorneys, first post

Welcome to Subin Associates first blog,First a little history of the firm. Our firm was established in 1954 by Bert Subin and has been specializing in representing the seriously injured in personal injury litigation since. In 1992 Herbert Subin, Christopher Ambler and Gregory Cerchione took over the operations of Subin Associates.Over the last 55 years we have represented over 10,000 clients that have been injured in motor vehicle accidents, in falls, by medical negligence, in construction accidents and by defective products and collected almost $1 billion for them.We have established numerous record setting results and groundbraking legal precedents in the field of personal injury and motor vehicle accident law.Our partners are regularly quoted and interviewed in the media and have been President of numerous organizations and Bar Associations.Through the years we have earned the reputation for being excellent trial attorneys and litigators obtaining numerous jury verdicts above $1 million and even $20 million. Based on this reputation for excellence we also obtain the highest settlements from insurance companies and self insured defendants (such as the City of New York and the New York City Transit Authority).Based upon our long history of successfully represting personal injury clients, our clients are frequently referred to us from former clients, doctors, other personal injury attorneys and even judges.
One very special characteristic about Subin Associates is the sense of family and teamwork that we provide our clients. Twenty of the members of our firm have been working here in excess of 15 years and ten of the members in excess of twenty years. Having that sense of continuity and depth of experience makes us unique amoung New York personal injury law firms.We look forward to having this forum to communicate new happenings in personal injury, construction, medical malpractice and other types of law. We also will update you as to happenings in the firm.Thank you for taking an interest in our firm.Herb Subin
Posted by Herb Subin