Cleveland Law Library Weblog

OSBA Recommends Judges Limit Jurors' Social Media Access

The Ohio State Bar Association has recommended a new jury instruction for judges to give to jurors. Concerns over jurors looking outside the confines of a case for evidence and other information has prompted the OSBA to recommend that judges instruct jurors not to use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or technology, such as iPhones and Blackberrys. The proposed instruction is not, however, limited to technological devices or internet sites and includes reference books, newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio news. According to Justice Lanzinger, the goal of the proposed instruction is to ensure that parties receive a fair trial. Click here to read a press release from the Ohio Supreme Court about the new proposal. According to the OSBA website, the new jury instruction is available through Casemaker. This link from the OSBA press release may take you to the text of the proposed instruction, although you may have to sign in online as a member of the OSBA first.

OSBA and OJI Publish New Jury Instructions

The recent issue of OBAR reports that the Ohio State Bar Association has puslished new jury instructions on Casemaker, including those covering Ohio ethics law conflicts of interest (O.R.C. sec. 102.03(E), common law defenses-duress, diminution of value, breach of confidentiality, breach of confidentiality of medical records to a third party, compromise verdicts, and complete instructions for a basic personal injury case. The OSBA has also partnered with the Ohio Judicial Conference to create a new OJI Chapter 349 on Privacy, that will include instructions on 1) invasion of privacy, publication of private facts; 2) invasion of privacy, common law; 3) invasion of privacy, appropriation of name or likeness; 4) invasion of privacy, intrusion into private affairs; and 5) invasion of privacy, false light.

More Cuyahoga County Jurors Cannot Afford to Serve

According to the Plain Dealer, the current state of the economy is making it harder for the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court to keep jurors. Potential jurors who cannot afford to come downtown, whose employers do not pay them during jury service, or who risk jeopardizing a brand new job are all begging off or postponing their service with increasing frequency. In response, the local jury commission is summoning 200 more jurors, for a total of 1,200, each week, but at $20 per day (payable 2-3 weeks after the conclusion of service), even the unemployed might lose money after paying for transportation, parking and lunch.

Jurors Are Researching Cases on the Internet During Trial

It is probably just the tip of the iceberg, but the NYTimes just reported that 9 jurors in a recent drug trial were using the Internet to research the case during the trial. Although this federal Judge declared a mistrial after 8 weeks of intense testimony, the article indicates that another judge in the case of former PA. senator Vincent Fumo refused to declare a mistrial even though jurors were posting updates on the case on Facebook and Twitter. The article highlights the historical support for requiring jurors to base their decisions solely on the evidence presented and admitted in court, while nonetheless noting the ways in which jurors can easily circumvent these rules with laptops, ipods, and other technological devices.

Jury Duty Scam Hits Summit County

Newsnet5.com reports that a jury duty scam has hit Summit County. The Summit County Sheriff's office has learned of a new identity theft scheme where a caller claims to be following up on a jury summons a resident never received. Claiming to want to verify information and cancel an arrest warrant, the caller asks residents for a social security number and date of birth. Cuyahoga County residents may want to watch out in case this scheme travels north.

Social Networking Sites Can Provide Insights on Potential Jurors

An article posted on the Law Librarian Blog suggests that social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook could provide lawyers with helpful insights on potential jurors.The same could be said of blogs in which potential jurors provide opinions on subjects they could be asked to deliberate at hte conclusion of a trial. To the extent judges allow attorneys to conduct their own voir dire, the uses are endless and interesting for social networking sites. These sites have already been used since inception by creative employers (including law firms) screening candidates for employment. LinkedIn is primarily designed for professional uses, and other services like Facebook provide personal and professional networking opportunities that allow online dialogue among "friends" who can all write on each others "walls."

Stark County Cutting Jurors' Pay

Newsnet5.com reports that the Stark County Commissioners are suspending most of the payments jurors in Canton's Common Pleas Court would otherwise receive for answering the call to jury service. Budget crunches are everywhere, and now they are affecting the budget of the Common Pleas court, which will not be able to pay jurors for the first 10 days of their service, unless they are seated in a capital murder case. $22.50 per day is not a lot of compensation, but for the unemployed, or those whose employers do not pay  the difference, it can mean food for the table. The County's decision over the Court, which newsnet5.com notes is the 2nd one in recent history, raises issues of separation of powers.

Cuyahoga County Issues Jury Orientation Video

The Common Pleas Court for Cuyahoga County has created and issued a brand new jury orientation video. You can watch it for free on the Internet at the following location. The video is available for both broadband and dial-up users and will hopefully provide some comfort for new jurors serving on Common Pleas Court juries. The video takes a long time to load, and the sound is pretty low, but hopefully the Court will work out these bugs soon.