Tocqueville’s LIKELY Take on the “Tweeting Juror” Problem
stating on one occasion, “‘So, Johnathan, what did you do today?’ Oh, nothing really, I just gave away TWELVE MILLION DOLLARS of somebody else’s money!’” and later tweeting “Oh, and nobody buy Stoam. It’s bad mojo, and they’ll probably cease to exist, now that their wallet is $12M lighter. http://www.stoam.com/.”60 On appeal, Wright’s counsel argued these communications showed Powell’s “predispos[ition] toward giving a verdict that would impress his audience.”61 The court disagreed, reasoning that Powell’s communications did not demonstrate bias and that the defendant failed to prove that “outside information entered the jury room and influenced the As discussed below, when jurors verdict,” as required by Arkansas law.62 engage in social networking Jurors also go online to vent general during trial proceedings, there are frustrations. In one California murder trial, a juror posted on Facebook that she “want[ed] at least three sources of potential to punch” a fellow juror for cracking her harm: harm to the parties involved knuckles.63 The judge dismissed the juror for this and other posts, and the prosecuin a given trial; harm to society; tor requested that the judge also “yell[] at” and harm to the integrity of the and “possibly prosecute[]” the juror for her actions.64 Another juror in a Connecticut case judicial system, itself. posted on Facebook that “‘[j]ury duty sucks’” and “[t]his is way too boring. … Somebody get me outta here.”65 Jurors might also communicate inane observations about the jury experience. For instance, during jury selection in a Washington case, one prospective juror blogged descriptions of the prosecutor and defense attorney, referring to the former as “‘Mr. Cheap Suit’” and “‘annoying,’” while noting that the latter “‘just exudes friendly … And he’s cute.’”66 In more troubling instances, jurors communicate messages that signal their leanings about a criminal defendant’s guilt or innocence. For example, a potential juror in the Chandra Levy murder trial was dismissed after the defense counsel learned that he tweeted, “‘Guilty guilty … I will not be swayed. Practicing for jury duty.’” 67 In another criminal trial, a juror posted to his blog the following message, which raised serious doubts about his understanding of the prosecution’s burden of proof: “‘Like my life doesn’t already have enough civic participation in it, now I get to listen to the local riffraff try and convince me of their innocence.’”68 The juror later explained to the trial judge that he actually did understand the requisite burden of proof and “‘[didn’t] even recall making [this] remark,’” which he deemed “‘off-hand … [with] no real thought behind it.’”69 In later denying the defendant’s federal habeas petition, the New Hampshire District Court reasoned that a “blog is akin to a personal journal or diary, albeit 60. Id. at 391–92 (internal quotation marks omitted). 61. Id. at 391 (internal quotation marks omitted). 62. Id. (emphasis added). 63. Facebooking juror kicked off murder trial, The O r a nge C ount y R eg . (Dec. 2, 2011), http://www. ocregister.com/articles/juror-329708-trial-judge.html. 64. Id. 65. United States v. Ganias, Crim. No. 3:08CR224(EBB), 2011 WL 4738684, at *2 (D. Conn. Oct. 5, 2011). 66. Grow, supra note 39. 67. Prospective Juror Tweets Self Out of Levy Murder Trial, NBC Wash. (Oct. 22, 2010), http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Prospective-Juror-Tweets-Self-Out-of-Levy-Murder-Trial-105553253.html. 68. Goupil v. Cattell, Civil No. 07-cv-58-SM, 2008 WL 544863, at *2–3 (D.N.H. Feb. 26, 2008). 69. Id. at *3.
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