Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Internet LawFeaturesLitigationLJN NewslettersMedical Malpractice Law & Strategy

Should You 'Facebook' the Jury? It Depends on the State and the Judge

By Ben Hancock
June 02, 2017

Any good trial lawyer these days is keenly aware that jurors are revealing valuable tidbits about their lives, their interests, and social and political leanings on such services as Facebook and Twitter. But while social media profiles can present a trove of data points for jury selection — one that legal tech companies are eager to mine — researching jurors online while keeping on the right side of the judge and local ethics rules is hardly a straightforward exercise.

“It's really an issue that I see developments [in] on a weekly basis,” said John Browning, a trial attorney at Passman Jones in Dallas and author of “Legal Ethics and Social Media: A Practitioner's Handbook,” set to be published shortly. At the end of the day, Browning said, most opinions out there would steer attorneys toward doing more research about their panel over less. Even so, there are nuances depending on what state you're in, and who the judge is.

This premium content is locked for LJN Newsletters subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations Image

This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.

The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs Image

The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.

CLE Shouldn't Be the Only Mandatory Training for Attorneys Image

Each stage of an attorney's career offers opportunities for a curriculum that addresses both the individual's and the firm's need to drive success.

A defendant in a patent infringement suit may, during discovery and prior to a <i>Markman</i> hearing, compel the plaintiff to produce claim charts, claim constructions, and element-by-element infringement analyses.