JURORS BEHAVING BADLY

A blog about the very small percentage of jurors who fail to follow the judge's instructions, including doing independent Internet research, using social media (such as Facebook) to contact parties and lawyers, and blogging about the trial. Juror misconduct frequently results in mistrials and a waste of resources. Links will be provided to sample jury summonses, jury instructions, and other resources to improve juror education and minimize juror misconduct, thereby promoting fairness of trials.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Links to Helpful Resources

Judge Donald Shelton's Instructions: http://www.ncsc.org/topics/jury/jury-selection-trial-and-deliberations/resource-guide.aspx

"Sequestration for the Twenty-first Century: Disconnecting Jurors from the Internet During Trial", 59 Drake L. Rev. 621, Spring 2011

"Can the Jury Trial Survive Google?", Criminal Justice (An ABA journal) Winter 2011

"Social Media and Jurors," Maryland Bar Journal, November 2010, by Judge Dennis Sweeney; see also his blog at: http://jurytrialsandsocialnetworks.wordpress.com/

"Jury Instructions Cautioning Against Use of Internet and Social Networking, " American College of Trial Lawyers, September 2010

"A Practical Framework for Preventing 'Mistrial by Twitter,'" 28 Cardozo Arts & Entertainment L.J. (2010-11)

"The Wired Juror, Unplugged," TRIAL, November 2010, bu Susan MacPherson & Beth Bonora.