Could the Internet Kill the Jury System?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

My point is not so much that it's not technically possible to shut people off - obviously it is, given the will - but that in this day in age, it's far more of an imposition to do this to people than it used to be, to the point that it's not really a runner. Stringent enforcement of standards and behaviour is the key IMHO.

The imposition needs to be balanced against the fact that someone's life may be at stake here. BFD if you don't get to tweet for a while.

That I have no problem with at all, but then I despise tweeting anyway. It's more the incidental restriction on communications that have nothing to do with the trial, but are otherwise crucial for the juror on a personal level.

Yep, that's why jury duty is a pain in the ass.

[Don't Panic]

In a lecture published on Friday the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, raised major concerns about the use of the internet by jurors.

He said: "If the jury system is to survive as the system for a fair trial... the misuse of the internet by jurors must stop."

Lord Judge said some jurors had used the internet to research a rape case.

Rest of article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11796648

I'm surprised it's taken so long for the judiciary to wake up to this ... or to just speak out about it. The idea of sequestering people for weeks/months on end in this age of all-pervasive communications is looking increasingly untenable.

That's what I was thinking. The only way to do it would be to search every juror for cell phones, or any internet-capable device, and then just to be sure, sequester them some place where there is no Internet service. However, I don't know where that would be - the hospital 'Zilla was in recently has WiFi.

Blocking wi-fi and cellular signals isn't difficult or expensive, you wouldn't even need to take the devices away from them.

[Feck]

No system of justice works in everycase the jury in a rape case is not to know the defendant has been found guilty of rape before ,but what the girl was wearing who she had sex with before and how many drinks she normally has on a Sat night are commonly used by the defence .

[PsychoSerenity]

Meh. The whole criminal justice system has always seemed a bit medieval to me anyway.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Meh. The whole criminal justice system has always seemed a bit medieval to me anyway.

I, for one, would love to go back to trial-by-combat.

[GreyICE]

Seriously, the solution is to cut the entire jury off from all technology for the entire duration of the trial? My cell phone has internet access.

I can't go home (I have 5 different machines in my house that can access the internet), can't go to work or keep in touch with my colleagues, can't go visit any friend with any internet?

What crime did jury members commit again? Because you're describing prison.