Jurors Use of Internet to do Research on Trials is a Global Problem

June 05, 2018, Kitchener, Ontario

Posted by: Robert Deutschmann, Personal Injury Lawyer

Almost all of us have a super computer in our pockets and we have come to rely on them to give us answers to questions immediately on all kinds of topics from where gas is cheap to how to get something delivered free. Now however, it seems that jurors are seriously disrupting trials by using their phones to look for answers to their questions about the case they are deliberating.

There is a serious problem facing courts. They must ensure that jurors don’t use the internet to investigate cases, people, or the law while on jury duty. For many this is a real problem as it has become almost second nature to look up questions on google. In England a juror was jailed for six months after doing research on a criminal defendant while serving jury duty. In Ontario Google addicted jurors have derailed three trials recently.

The Ontario cases were in Ottawa, Barrie and Toronto. Judges had ordered the jurors to ‘not use the internet or any other electronic device in connection with the case in any way’ and yet they were discovered to have contravened the order. While it is impossible to say how many jurors are breaking the rules, it is essential to the Justice System that jurors reach verdicts based on the evidence presented in court. The concern is that much of the information available online is not high-quality fact, but rather supposition, or unproven allegation.

In the personal injury car accident Ottawa case, and after 8 weeks of evidence in court, the jury sent a note to the judge asking for information about something that had not been introduced at trial. The Jury Foreman admitted he had consulted the internet. From the Plaintiff’s perspective, the only remedy available to the Judge was to declare a mistrial. The judge decided to instruct the jury, but in two other recent cases the damage to the fairness of the trial was so great that mistrials were declared.

The cost to the system which is overloaded already with cases facing huge backlogs is enormous. The expenses to all parties are significant.  There are no laws yet restricting the ability of jurors to access the internet to do research on trials in Ontario, but in Australia and in other jurisdictions the state has enacted such laws to protect the integrity of the justice system. There is considerable debate around this though as no one wants to make it common for jurors who serve essentially for free to be charged criminally. It would provide a great incentive to the public to avoid jury duty.

About Deutschmann Law

Deutschmann Law serves South-Western Ontario with offices in Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford and Ayr. The law practice of Robert Deutschmann focuses almost exclusively in personal injury and disability insurance matters. For more information, please visit www.deutschmannlaw.com or call us at 1-519-742-7774.

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