This is a somewhat older story, from August I think, but I feel like it should have earned more spotlight than it did. A juror in a Michigan trial court was released because of her facebook status while off from a day of jury duty. She stated on her status “gonna be fun to tell the defendant they’re guilty.” SERIOUSLY! Even though the girl may have been young, you have to take court seriously. Jury duty could be a joke for some, but someone's life is in your hands, even if it is a matter of 2 days in jail or several years. I feel like the girl did not take her duty seriously and she should be punished for playing around and posting things on facebook. I feel that this story should have been broadcasted or shown more than it was, just to set an example for others that the judicial system is serious. Seems that this story is more newsworthy than it was given credit. The defendant was found guilty in the case, but her mishap could have created many problems if the status wasn't caught.
Here's the article:
http://newsone.com/nation/associatedpress4/facebook-status-gets-juror-dismissed-gonna-be-fun-to-tell-the-defendant-theyre-guilty/
I had never heard this story until now but I am glad you posted about it. That is absurd that anyone in their right mind, which you would hope someone on the jury deciding your trial was, could think that would be an okay thing to post on the internet.
ReplyDeleteThis is another issue that is new to everyone and a bad side effect of sites like Facebook.
Anything you say on Facebook, can and will be held against you in a court of law.
I've never heard about this either, and this is crazy! I completely agree! But imagine what could have happened if she did not post that status? She has obviously made up her mind that the defendant was guilty before the end of the trial, and she was obviously not doing her duty by doing that. I'm kinda glad she got caught, because she could have really hurt the defendant by being unfair.
ReplyDeleteYeah I remember this story and I agree. I'm glad that they were checking Facebook and that someone cared enough about fairness to say something! Too often people just look away and not concern themselves with things like this. Just because someone is on trial does not make them automatically guilty. That's why we have trials.
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