Law Weblog

Jurors risk trials by tweeting

Saturday 20 November 2010 at 8:02 am | In News | Post Comment Lord Judge, the lord chief justice has again warned about internet use by jurors, this week,

“We cannot stop people tweeting, but if jurors look at such material, the risks to the fairness of the trial will be very serious,” he said.

In a speech to the Judicial Studies Board in Belfast, he said: “We welcome advances in technology, provided that we are its masters and it is our tool and servant.”

Lord Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, has suggested to the newspapers that judges were “giving up” trying to stop juries using Google, Facebook and Twitter to access information about defendants.

Macdonald, said,

“I don’t think juries should be ‘allowed’ to do online research. But I do think we need to assume this will occasionally happen and that it should not invalidate a trial.”

Tape recorders are banned under the Contempt of Court Act, it is likely that Twitter will also be banned, and he judges warnings to jurors about discussing their trial outside the jury room should be extended to the internet.

Looking up cases on the internet by jurors might constitute contempt of court, punishable by two-years imprisonment.

Lord Judge also warned that schools were failing to train children to “sit still and listen for prolonged periods”, an essential skill for jurors.