Trial jurors are constantly admonished to only consider evidence they hear in the courtroom from the witness stand and exhibits, but this doesn't match up with many Americans' attitudes about what is acceptable behavior for a juror, according to a recent survey conducted by our partner company, Surveys on the Go.
In fact, nearly three-quarters of Americans believe it is acceptable for empaneled jurors to conduct Internet research about legal, medical or technical terms or concepts they hear in court, and 23 percent believe it is acceptable for jurors to research details of the case they are judging, according to the survey of 799 potential jurors nationwide.
As we have observed during jury research and actual trials around the country, jurors allowed to educate themselves can be their worst teachers, looking for information that seeks to confirm what may be inaccurate assumptions that could help the other side.
This underscores what savvy trial lawyers already know - in an era of smartphones and near-universal Internet access, it is more important than ever for judges to emphasize (and re-emphasize) that it's never OK for jurors to research anything related to the case, no matter how innocuous they think it is.
If you would like to talk about how to apply these findings to one of your cases, please call us at 714.754.1010. Happy holidays and Happy New Year from the Jury Impact team! We hope to see all of you in 2012.
Monday, January 9, 2012
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