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  • Apple Undermines US Legal System

    Because we haven't had an Apple troll in a while, here's a not very good one:



    Mistrial by iPhone: Juries’ Web Research Upends Trials
    By JOHN SCHWARTZ
    Last week, a juror in a big federal drug trial in Florida admitted to the judge that he had been doing research on the case on the Internet, directly violating the judge’s instructions and centuries of legal rules. But when the judge questioned the rest of the jury, he got an even bigger shock.

    Eight other jurors had been doing the same thing. The federal judge, William J. Zloch, had no choice but to declare a mistrial, wasting eight weeks of work by federal prosecutors and defense lawyers.

    “We were stunned,” said the defense lawyer, Peter Raben, who was told by the jury that he was on the verge of winning the case. “It’s the first time modern technology struck us in that fashion, and it hit us right over the head.”

    It might be called a Google mistrial. The use of BlackBerrys and iPhones by jurors gathering and sending out information about cases is wreaking havoc on trials around the country, upending deliberations and infuriating judges.

    Last week, a building products company asked an Arkansas court to overturn a $12.6 million judgment against it after a juror used Twitter to send updates during the civil trial.

    And on Monday, defense lawyers in the federal corruption trial of a former Pennsylvania state senator, Vincent J. Fumo, demanded that the judge declare a mistrial after a juror posted updates on the case on Twitter and Facebook. The juror even told his readers that a “big announcement” was coming Monday. But the judge decided to let the trial continue, and the jury found Mr. Fumo guilty. His lawyers plan to use the Internet postings as grounds for appeal.

    Jurors are not supposed to seek information outside of the courtroom. They are required to reach a verdict based only on the facts that the judge has decided are admissible, and they are not supposed to see evidence that has been excluded as prejudicial. But now, using their cellphones, they can look up the name of a defendant on the Web, or examine an intersection using Google Maps, violating the legal system’s complex rules of evidence. They can also tell their friends what is happening in the jury room, though they are supposed to keep their opinions and deliberations secret.

    A juror on a lunch or bathroom break can find out many details about a case. Wikipedia can help explain the technology underlying a patent claim or medical condition, Google Maps can show how long it might take to drive from point A to point B, and news sites can write about a criminal defendant, his lawyers or expert witnesses.

    “It’s really impossible to control it,” said Douglas L. Keene, president of the American Society of Trial Consultants.

    Judges have long amended their habitual warning about seeking outside information during trials to include Internet searches. But with the Internet now as close as the juror’s pocket, the risk has grown more immediate — and instinctual. Attorneys have begun to routinely check the blogs and Web sites of prospective jurors.

    Mr. Keene said jurors might think they were helping, not hurting, by digging deeper. “There are people who feel they can’t serve justice if they don’t find the answers to certain questions,” he said.

    But the rules of evidence, developed over hundreds of years of jurisprudence, are there to ensure that the facts that go before a jury have been subjected to scrutiny and challenge from both sides, said Olin Guy Wellborn III, a law professor at the University of Texas.

    “That’s the beauty of the adversary system,” Professor Wellborn, co-author of a handbook on evidence law, said. “You lose all that when the jurors go out on their own.”

    There appears to be no official tally of cases disrupted by Internet research, but with the increasing adoption of Web technology in cellphones, the numbers are sure to grow. Some courts are beginning to restrict the use of cellphones by jurors within the courthouse, even confiscating them during the day, but the majority do not, Mr. Keene said. And computer use at home, of course, is not restricted unless a jury is sequestered.

    In the Florida case that resulted in a mistrial, Mr. Raben spent nearly eight weeks fighting charges that his client had illegally sold prescription drugs through Internet pharmacies. The arguments were completed and the jury was deliberating when one of them contacted the judge to say another juror had admitted to her that he had done some outside research on the case over the Internet.

    As the judge questioned the juror about his research — which included evidence that the judge had specifically excluded — Mr. Raben said he recalled thinking that if the juror had not broadly communicated his information with the rest of the jury, the trial could continue and the eight weeks would not be wasted. “We can just kick this juror off and go,” he said.

    But then the judge found that eight other jurors had done the same thing — Google searches on the lawyers and the defendant, looking up news stories about the case, checking definitions on Wikipedia and searching for evidence that had been specifically excluded by the judge. One juror, asked about the research by the judge, said, “Well, I was curious,” according to Mr. Raben.

    “It was a heartbreak,” Mr. Raben added.

    Information flowing out of the jury box can be nearly as much trouble as the information flowing in; jurors accustomed to posting regular updates on their day-to-day experiences and thoughts can find themselves on a collision course with the law.

    In the Arkansas case, Stoam Holdings, the company trying to overturn the $12.6 million judgment, said a juror, Johnathan Powell, had sent Twitter messages during the trial. Mr. Powell’s messages included, “oh and nobody buy Stoam. Its bad mojo and they’ll probably cease to Exist, now that their wallet is 12m lighter,” and “So Johnathan, what did you do today? Oh nothing really, I just gave away TWELVE MILLION DOLLARS of somebody else’s money.”

    Mr. Powell, 29, the manager of a one-hour photo booth at a Wal-Mart in Fayetteville, Ark., insisted in an interview that he had not sent any substantive messages about the case until the verdict had been delivered and he was released from his obligation not to discuss the case. “I was done when I mentioned the trial at all,” he said. “They’re welcome to pull my phone records.”

    But juror research is a more troublesome issue than sending Twitter messages or blogging, Mr. Keene said, and raises new issues for judges in giving instructions.

    “It’s important that they don’t know what’s excluded, and it’s important that they don’t know why it’s excluded,” Mr. Keene said. The court cannot even give a full explanation to jurors about research — say, to tell them what not to look for — and so instructions are usually delivered as blanket admonitions, he said.

    The technological landscape has changed so much that today’s judge, Mr. Keene said, “has to explain why this is crucial, and not just go through boilerplate instructions.” And, he said, enforcement goes beyond what the judge can do, noting that “it’s up to juror 11 to make sure juror 12 stays in line.”

    It does not always work out that way. Seth A. McDowell, a data support specialist who lives in Albuquerque and works for a financial advising firm, said he was serving on a jury last year when another juror admitted doing a Google search on the defendant, even though she acknowledged that she was not supposed to do so. She said she did not find anything, Mr. McDowell said.

    Mr. McDowell, 35, said he thought about telling the judge, but decided against it. None of the other jurors did, either. Now, he said, after a bit of soul searching, he feels he might have made the wrong choice. But he remains somewhat torn.

    “I don’t know,” he said. “If everybody did the right thing, the trial, which took two days, would have gone on for another bazillion years.”

    Mr. McDowell said he planned to attend law school in the fall.
    “As a lifelong member of the Columbia Business School community, I adhere to the principles of truth, integrity, and respect. I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.”
    "Capitalism ho!"

  • #2
    So Apple aren't bribing judges?

    To be honest, the more jurors know about the minutiae of a case, the more likely a decent ruling. I've never done it, but I've heard tales from friends of jurors making snap judgements based on prejudice and refusing to change their minds whatever reasoned arguments are given to disprove their ideas. One man was charged under the 1974 Illegal Weapons Act (neither the date or the name of the law is correct here, but then I'm an accountant not a lawyer), and two of the jurors were certain he was guilty because he'd already committed the crime in 1974, well before the accused was even born. Jury service, like democracy, requires no intelligence rating before the participants are allowed to vote, and so we end up with the judgements that match the governments we end up with.

    Comment


    • #3
      Mr. McDowell said he planned to attend law school in the fall.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by duke o' york View Post
        So Apple aren't bribing judges?

        To be honest, the more jurors know about the minutiae of a case, the more likely a decent ruling. I've never done it, but I've heard tales from friends of jurors making snap judgements based on prejudice and refusing to change their minds whatever reasoned arguments are given to disprove their ideas. One man was charged under the 1974 Illegal Weapons Act (neither the date or the name of the law is correct here, but then I'm an accountant not a lawyer), and two of the jurors were certain he was guilty because he'd already committed the crime in 1974, well before the accused was even born. Jury service, like democracy, requires no intelligence rating before the participants are allowed to vote, and so we end up with the judgements that match the governments we end up with.
        The problem with that, unfortunately, is that you have no reason to believe jurors will actually find the RIGHT answers. My mom (a prosecutor) calls this the "CSI effect" (as do lots of others). Jurors think that you should be able to prove certain things, because they always prove them on CSI, so if you don't have DNA evidence linking the guy to the scene, he's not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Or, you could imagine a juror linking to Wiki, which mentions a certain rule of law, but doesn't mention that California (say) does not consider the law in that manner...

        Ultimately, I don't think permitting internet research will correct the problems you have anyhow; your google search is only as smart as you are, after all, and GIGO. It should be up to the lawyers to clarify ALL of the points of law, and up to the jurors to PAY ATTENTION (as they often don't) and ask any questions they feel needs clarifying. One of the nice things of a 12 man jury is you usually have at least ONE smart person in the group... and sorry if the jury trying you happens to randomly be the one that doesn't. That's up to the defense attorney and prosecutor to pick only the smart people (or, the people that fit what they hope for - smart or stupid - depending on their approach).
        <Reverend> IRC is just multiplayer notepad.
        I like your SNOOPY POSTER! - While you Wait quote.

        Comment


        • #5
          This is a really scary story. Eight-week old cases being mistried because of independent juror investigations. I'm going to send this to the folks who write our standard jury instructions to see if they wish to modify ours.

          Comment


          • #6
            The problem with that, unfortunately, is that you have no reason to believe jurors will actually find the RIGHT answers. My mom (a prosecutor) calls this the "CSI effect" (as do lots of others). Jurors think that you should be able to prove certain things, because they always prove them on CSI, so if you don't have DNA evidence linking the guy to the scene, he's not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Or, you could imagine a juror linking to Wiki, which mentions a certain rule of law, but doesn't mention that California (say) does not consider the law in that manner...

            Ultimately, I don't think permitting internet research will correct the problems you have anyhow; your google search is only as smart as you are, after all, and GIGO. It should be up to the lawyers to clarify ALL of the points of law, and up to the jurors to PAY ATTENTION (as they often don't) and ask any questions they feel needs clarifying. One of the nice things of a 12 man jury is you usually have at least ONE smart person in the group... and sorry if the jury trying you happens to randomly be the one that doesn't. That's up to the defense attorney and prosecutor to pick only the smart people (or, the people that fit what they hope for - smart or stupid - depending on their approach).
            There is some pretty interesting literature on something called the reverse CSI effect. Basically, once the government puts on evidence of DNA, Fingerprint, etc the jury accepts it as true and irrefutable even if the methods were shady.

            And I don't think most courts allow jurors to ask questions.
            Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try. -Homer

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Zkribbler View Post
              This is a really scary story. Eight-week old cases being mistried because of independent juror investigations. I'm going to send this to the folks who write our standard jury instructions to see if they wish to modify ours.

              And they say arguing on the internet never accomplishes anything...
              No, I did not steal that from somebody on Something Awful.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by flash9286 View Post
                There is some pretty interesting literature on something called the reverse CSI effect. Basically, once the government puts on evidence of DNA, Fingerprint, etc the jury accepts it as true and irrefutable even if the methods were shady.

                And I don't think most courts allow jurors to ask questions.
                Really... I was under the impression that they did [on matters of law, at least]. However, IANAL, so I'll concede to those who are on that point. They certainly SHOULD allow questions, IMO, at least on matters of law [not witness questioning or anything like that, but questions about what technically defines the law, questions put directly to the judge.]
                <Reverend> IRC is just multiplayer notepad.
                I like your SNOOPY POSTER! - While you Wait quote.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by snoopy369 View Post
                  Really... I was under the impression that they did [on matters of law, at least]. However, IANAL, so I'll concede to those who are on that point. They certainly SHOULD allow questions, IMO, at least on matters of law [not witness questioning or anything like that, but questions about what technically defines the law, questions put directly to the judge.]
                  I think they can ask questions about jury instructions, so that would be matter of laws. Jury asking questions to witnesses is discouraged, I think.
                  Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try. -Homer

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Okay, that's what I meant; for example, "Does it meet the definition of Premeditated Murder if we find that the accused came to work intending to kill someone, but finding that person took the day off, killed someone else who he did not come to work intending to kill", say. Not witness questioning, that would be fun but pretty much against the concept of a jury trial.
                    <Reverend> IRC is just multiplayer notepad.
                    I like your SNOOPY POSTER! - While you Wait quote.

                    Comment

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