Ensuring an Impartial Jury in the Age of Social Media

29 Pages Posted: 13 Mar 2012

Date Written: March 12, 2012

Abstract

The explosive growth of social networking has placed enormous pressure on one of the most fundamental of American institutions — the impartial jury. Through social networking services like Facebook and Twitter, jurors have committed significant and often high-profile acts of misconduct. Just recently, the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed a death sentence because a juror Tweeted about the case during deliberations. In light of the significant risks to a fair trial that arise when jurors communicate through social media during trial, judges must be vigilant in monitoring for potential outside influences and in deterring misconduct.

In this Article, we present informal survey data from actual jurors on their use of social networking during trial. We discuss the rise of web-based social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and the concerns that arise when jurors communicate about a case through social media before returning a verdict. After surveying how courts have responded to jurors’ social media use, we describe the results of the informal survey. The results support a growing consensus in the legal profession that courts should frequently, as a matter of course, instruct jurors not to use social media to communicate about trial. Although others have stressed the importance of jury instructions in this area, we hope that the informal survey data will further the dialogue by providing an important perspective — that of actual jurors.

Suggested Citation

St. Eve, Amy and Zuckerman, Michael A., Ensuring an Impartial Jury in the Age of Social Media (March 12, 2012). Duke Law & Technology Review, Vol. 11, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2020499

Amy St. Eve

U.S. District Court Judge ( email )

U.S. District Court
219 South Dearborn
Chicago, IL 60604
United States

Michael A. Zuckerman (Contact Author)

Jones Day ( email )

Chicago, IL 60610
United States

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