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Internet-Caused Mistrials Are On the Rise
The NYTimes is running a tip-of-the-iceberg story about how the age of Google is resulting in more mistrials as the traditional rules of evidence, honed over many centuries, collide with the always-on Internet. Especially when jurors carry the always-on Internet in their pockets. (We discussed one such case recently.) "The use of BlackBerrys and iPhones by jurors gathering and sending out information about cases is wreaking havoc on trials around the country, upending deliberations and infuriating judges. ... Jurors are not supposed to seek information outside of the courtroom. They are required to reach a verdict based on only the facts the judge has decided are admissible, and they are not supposed to see evidence that has been excluded as prejudicial. But now, using their cellphones, they can look up the name of a defendant on the Web or examine an intersection using Google Maps, violating the legal system's complex rules of evidence."
How do you blame technology for some jackass failing to take his civic responsibility seriously?
With technology, he's a more efficient jackass.
I can get out of jury duty?
They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
And 20 minutes later some other jackass will edit it to read "Shakrai did not commit this crime. He did however murder and molest (in that order) 20 children."
I see the glass as full with a FoS of 2.
Face it, the average juror may not be that sharp and may not realize it until told.
Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, it does not make sense! If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit!
My blog
I'll simply edit my Wikipedia page to say "Shakrai did not commit this crime"
[citation needed]
The internet just makes it easier and faster for morons to display their stupid.
Their what?
No, actually, what I meant was "their stupid."
I didn't want to say that the internet makes it easier for them "to display that they are stupid" which is the paraphrase for your "correction." I was using "their stupid" as a replacement for "their stupidity." I'm making use of a language in a slightly non-standard way, as a conscious decision.
Thanks, though.
How is this any different than going to a library and looking up info after court?
Well, because you don't have to go to a library. And you don't have to look it up. And you don't have to wait until after court. But other than that, it's identical!
Luke, I am your lawyer!
NOOOOOoooooo!!!!
rewriting history since 2109
Meh! First we had people verbing nouns. Now we have them nouning adjectives.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
Go read the article.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
It wouldn't bother me if you got the info from Wikipedia - as long as I got to edit it first.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
you're not allowed to do anything
Of course you are...they just don't want you to know that you are. (Hint: google "jury nullification" some time.) (Hint #2: those two words are a really fast way to get thrown off a jury.)
...or go home and post information about the case and the jury deliberations to blogs, etc.
Short of sequestering all juries, there's not a lot you can do to pose a substantial barrier to that.
Exactly - I'm in a situation right now that reflects that pretty well (my first time serving as a juror).
Actually the judge told us explicitly that if it was made public that Col. Mustard had even been seen with a candlestick, the whole case could be unraveled.
Oh, wait...
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
Actually, I think it's the fact that we ARE the most intelligent creatures on the planet which is why we DON'T WANT to control ourselves for one month.
Humans are the most intelligent creatures on the planet? You don't use youtube a lot do you? ;)
"A cynic is what an idealist calls a realist" - Sir Humphrey Appleby
Last time I reported for Jury Duty they wouldn't even let me bring an iPod into the building, let alone anything with Internet access...I guess it's a state-by-state thing.
You're right, it's definitely worse here in Texas. Last time I was on a jury, they wouldn't let me bring my gun into the courthouse.
Great men are almost always bad men--Lord Acton's Corollary
I can get home from that day's proceedings and have Wikipedia summaries of the law, tons of background info on the defendant and plaintiff, and every news article about the case ever printed in about 2.5 minutes using the internet.
That's amazing! What kind of printer are you using?