Prosecutors Desk 12-4-11

In a recent story published in public media, a California juror posted personal comments about the trial on Facebook after instructions from the court not to tweet, to stay off the internet, and away from the media. The Juror was dismissed from the jury. The case is a serious murder case and the juror’s conduct threatened the fairness of the trial. The juror apparently failed to understand how important to the process each juror is and how important it is to follow the instructions of the court.

In a recent Federal Court Case tried here in Washington, the issue arose as to whether a juror was exposed to information through the media that the court had ruled should not be presented to the jury. The issue will probably be dealt with during the appeal process; juror conduct was not the issue there.

We have experienced similar problems in Stevens County. During deliberations in a case a couple of years ago, one of the jurors accessed the internet through his phone from the jury room. The juror did it to answer a question that had come up during jury deliberations. It caused a great deal of difficulty and compromised all the work that had been done by the attorneys, and the court and all the other jurors.

During the preparation of a case that goes to trial, there is a lot of work that is done by both parties and by the court. What a jury hears is controlled by the rules of evidence and the rulings of the Judge. The entire existence of the rules is based on a long gathered understanding of what has been determined to be necessary for a fair trial to occur. This is what makes it possible to for us as members of a society to be sure that when the freedom of someone is taken away, it is only after a fair process has occurred and the rights of an accused have been respected. We all want that kind of justice for ourselves and so we make sure it is available to everyone by law.

The rules that apply to the parties and the court are important to obtain a fair trial, but the rules that apply to how citizens act when they are jurors are equally important. The media surrounds us and bombards us with far too much information. It is impossible to make sure that every juror, in every way, is kept from any information except what they hear in court, but if the rules are kept, it is more likely that a fair trial will occur. When the trial is fair, the ends of justice are met regardless of the outcome. That is the goal.

Comments are closed.