Juries and the web

The Guardian asks if the internet is destroying juries today in an article with much to think about, including a nice description of Bushel’s case.

The crux of is that unrestricted internet access may tempt jurors to start researching aspects of their case, from, I suppose, facebook profiles to information on expert witnesses… the ramifications of this can be seen in the Karakaya case where the conviction of a man charged with raping a 14-year-old girl was retried, resulting in an acquittal, after it emerged that jurors had been consulting the internet during the case. The author surmises that the internet may be a greater threat to the institution of the jury than, for example, jury nobbling, and she has a point.