Jurors using mobile Internet devices to search for
information about cases outside the facts revealed in court could be jailed up
to 2 years according to the Law Commission. According to the Commission, the
Internet’s capability to provide ready online information published across different
sites all over the world could affect the juror’s perspective of the case in
court.
Judges are alos given powers to remove jurors’ mobile phones
while in court, including other variations of mobile Internet devices. These efforts
are designed to reform the contempt of court regulations existing in the legal
world today.
The UK Attorney General is also to give guidance regarding
the publication of public opinion in the Internet regarding existing criminal
legal court cases. According to Professor David Ormerod QC, he explained that
the efforts of both the Law Commission and the Attorney General are to ensure
that the defendants have a right to a fair trial, the interests of jurors and
public confidence in the UK legal system.
The Internet devices will not be collected as the jurors
enter a court building, but they will be collected when the jury is
deliberating during the end of a trial. Juror contempt is a serious risk to
handling and delivering proper justice, and the Internet’s resources that are
more inaccurate could prove to influence their decisions.
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