« Courts - The new Slap Suit? When Online Grievances Are Met With a Lawsuit" | Main | Ind. Decisions - Upcoming oral arguments this week and next »

Monday, May 31, 2010

Courts - More on: "Judge probes possible rogue jury in cockfighting case: Juror admits surfing Internet in defiance of judge’s orders"

One really can't top the story posted here May 27, 2010, about the federal court juror in a recent South Carolina cockfighting trial who defied the judge's orders and "brought pages of Internet research from the Wikipedia Web site into the jury room and held a private discussion about the case with three other jurors." But take a look at the beginning of this story today in USA Today:

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge warned jurors in a death penalty trial 41 times not to discuss the case with anyone, not even each other, until they were sent off to deliberate on a verdict.

That didn't stop Cynthia Wilson, the jury foreman, from calling five news organizations and placing 71 other telephone calls to two fellow jurors.

U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. of South Carolina found Wilson's behavior so outrageous that he held her in contempt of court, ordering her to return $2,500 of her juror's pay and perform 120 hours of community service. Anderson said he would have put Wilson in jail for six months if she did not have four children at home.

The balance of the story deals with the issue of whether the death sentence of the defendant in the case should be thrown out as a result of the juror's conduct.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 31, 2010 05:55 PM
Posted to Courts in general