FindLaw's Googling Potential Jurors: The Legal and Ethical Issues Arising from the Use of the Internet in Voir Dire
Two Examples of How the Internet Has Assisted Voir Dire
Consider this example: In last year's federal terrorism case against then-suspected (and since convicted) "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla, a team of defense lawyers was using laptops to conduct Internet searches on the names of prospective jurors in a Miami federal courtroom. They discovered that one juror had lied on her jury questionnaire.
The woman, a Miami-area government employee who was not publicly identified, said that she had no personal experience with the criminal justice system. But in fact, she was currently under investigation for malfeasance (sometimes referred to as official misconduct), according to online information discovered by a jury consultant for one of Padilla's co-defendants. After the judge was informed of this discrepancy, she dismissed the juror.
This incident was not very unusual. As more and more information on people becomes available on the Internet — not only in the ways noted above, but also through blogs, online comments, Twitter, and the like — the Internet has, in the last few years, become an important tool for jury consultants and trial lawyers.To take another example, from the ABA Journal article, a Los Angeles trial attorney notes that, in a case involving a construction accident, he learned that a particular potential juror was a fellow attorney whose practice included worker's-compensation cases. At first, the trial attorney was enthused about the juror — believing that he would be sympathetic and would understand California law. But an Internet search revealed that the potential juror had recently run for state office on a tort-reform platform. That piece of information put the potential juror in a whole new light.
Overall, jury consultants say that Internet resources are a treasure trove of information that can be used in picking the optimal jurors, striking potential jurors, and even influencing jurors throughout the trial, including in opening statements and closing arguments.
How the Internet Has Transformed Voir Dire
As a starting point, many lawyers and jury-selection experts recommend that attorneys ask each jury panelist (that is, each potential juror) about blogging, use of social-networking sites, use of microblogging services, exposure to news-media content on the Internet, and the like.
Since many people use pseudonyms online, attorneys may also want to ask for potential jurors' pseudonyms -- though some potential jurors may not reveal them (and judges may not require jurors to reveal them, in light of privacy concerns).
Jurors may also be asked if they have posted videos on YouTube, or if (and where) they may comment on news articles, or have submitted letters to the editor (online or offline). Relatedly, jurors may be asked about online — as well as offline — news-media usage and habits.
Read the entire article at FindLaw
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