Jury service is an important element of civic participation, but necessarily involves hours of waiting and quiet observation of proceedings, evoking, for some, a hunger for expression or quick entertainment. Smartphones, with easy social networking capabilities, give jurors an avenue to let off steam, but also to disobey the court’s instructions and discuss elements of the case before the trial is complete. A juror who comments about a case on the internet may invite responses that include extraneous information about the case or efforts by social media "friends" to exercise persuasion and influence, potentially marring the integrity of the proceedings or causing a mistrial.
To be sure, it is difficult for judges to simultaneously conduct a trial and police jurors, who, for the most part, consider social network activities to be their own business. Judges repeatedly remind jurors not to use social media to communicate with outsiders during the trial or deliberations, and at certain times judges have confiscated electronic devices in the courtroom. In response to reports of social media activity by sitting jurors, states judiciaries have amended jury instructions to educate juries about the unintended effects of such behavior. For example, New Jersey state courts recently amended a section of the Model Civil Jury Instruction to include specific prohibitions regarding social media: "You also should not attempt to communicate with others about the case, either personally or through computers, cell phones, text messaging, instant messaging, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, personal electronic and media devices or other forms of wireless communication." Similarly, the Judicial Conference Committee also updated the model jury instructions for federal courts to deter jurors from using social media to communicate about the cases on which they serve.
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