Jurors Shouldn't Tweet

The U.S. Judicial Conference—which sets policies for all federal courts except the Supreme Court—sent all federal district judges suggested jury instructions on "juror use of electronic communication technologies" during trial.  The essence of the instructions was simple: risks of social media use by jurors is too high, so jurors should refrain.  Jurors were asked not to reference blogs or the internet to find out information on cases they are assigned to.  Further, jurors should not use technologies such as blogs, Twitter, or other social networking platforms such as Facebook, My Space and more.


While there have been some questions as to why such technologies are not allowed, the answer seems quite simple:  jurors must learn about the case through the courtroom procedures and are not even allowed to discuss the case with each other.  If jurors are allowed to utilize social networking sites, read or post on blogs, or Twitter - there is a higher likelihood that someone may slip up.
Here, social media risks have been assessed, and as with social media law, it is developing!


by:  Benish Shah, Esq. & Sheheryar Sardar, Esq., Sardar Law Firm LLC
For more information on social media law, contact: Sardar Law Firmat sardar@sardarlawfirm.com.
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