E . Juror Pledges
An innovative approach to limiting Internet use involves requiring jurors to sign written pledges not to communicate about the case through social media . 60 The American College of Trial Lawyers has proposed the following “ Statement of Compliance ” for jurors to sign :
I _______ agree that during the duration of the trial in ____________, I will not conduct any independent research into any of the issues or parties involved in this trial . I will not communicate with anyone about the issues or parties in this trial , and I will not permit anyone to communicate with me . I further agree that I will report any violation of the court ’ s instruction immediately . 61
Some courts in California require “ jurors to sign declarations attesting that they will not use “ personal electronic and media devices ” to research or communicate about any aspect of the case . That includes computers , cell phones and laptops . Jurors will have to sign the declarations , made under penalty of perjury , both before and after they serve .” 62 “ A juror who signs the declaration that is found to have done research or otherwise communicated online about the case could face fines and possibly probation or jail time , [ all ] of which are among the penalt [ ies ] for perjury .” 63
V . CONCLUSION
The accessibility of the Internet has made it more and more difficult to uphold the guarantees of a fair and impartial trial . This is not because a case has drawn overwhelming attention from the media or due to outside forces tampering with jurors , but is due to wrongdoing by the jurors themselves . “ The problem of outside influence on jurors is no longer confined to high profile cases that are covered in the press or other media . Courtroom misconduct seems to be
60
Yahoo News , Judge : No Web for Jurors at Society Arms Trial , October 5 , 2011 , https :// www . yahoo . com / news / ny-judge-no-jurors-soviet-arms-trial-025047790 . html . Last accessed February 20 , 2017 .
61
American College of Trial Lawyers . Jury Instructions Cautioning Against Use of the Internet and Social Networking . 2010 , https :// www . actl . com / library / jury-instructions-cautioning-against-use-internet-and-socialnetworking . Last accessed June 1 , 2017 .
62
Greg Moran , Revised Jury Instructions : Do Not Use The Internet Researching , Discussing Of Cases ‘ Huge Problem , September 13 , 2009 , http :// www . sandiegouniontribune . com / news / 2009 / sep / 13 / revised-jury-instructionsdo-not-use-internet /?& zindex = 165049 . Last accessed June 1 , 2017 .
63
Id . 28