Social Media Law?
It is understood that jurors must be shielded from influences that would affect their ability to render a verdict based solely on the facts presented. Does that mean jurors must avoid social media? Probably.
Source: Technologist: The Findlaw Legal Technology Blog: Jurors: Keep Your E-Fingers to Yourselves:
We live in a world where we can find out almost anything from the Internet by the simple movement of our fingers on relatively tiny devices. In just a matter of seconds, from practically any location, jurors can seek information relating to parties, witnesses and the issues at stake in a given trial. This, of course, can taint the jurors such that they would not be deliberating in the case based only on the facts presented to them at trial.
So, are jurors seeking outside information electronically about their cases? Well, the San Francisco Superior Court is concerned enough that it has a proposed a rule to deal with this potential problem. Pursuant to the proposed rule, which would become operative on January 1 and which is open for public comment until October 23, jurors would be instructed specifically as follows: “You may not do research about any issues involved in the case. You may not blog, Tweet, or use the Internet to obtain or share information.”
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