Jurors' online posts concern trial lawyers (AP)

[Yahoo! News]

AP - Eric Wuest's post late Friday to Facebook friends teased: "Stay tuned for a big announcement on Monday everyone!"

Wuest wasn't hinting at an engagement or new job. Instead, the law firm benefits coordinator was suggesting the verdict was near after five months as a juror in a high-profile criminal case.

On Monday, a nervous Wuest found himself in the judge's chambers, defending his veiled posts about the corruption trial of former state Sen. Vincent Fumo in Philadelphia. But he is not alone in posting his courtroom musings online, according to one lawyer who studies Twitter.

"Dozens of people a day are sending tweets or Facebook updates from courthouses all over America," said Anne W. Reed, a Milwaukee trial lawyer and jury consultant who writes a blog that follows juries and social networking sites.

While most posts are innocuous, Reed said, a few cases have raised eyebrows — and questions about whether judges need to clarify jury instructions about online communications.

In Arkansas last week, a building materials company and its owner appealed a $12.6 million verdict against them, alleging that during the trial a juror posted Twitter messages that showed bias. Juror Johnathan Powell, of Fayetteville, told The Associated Press that the complainants were "grasping at straws" to try to undo the award.

A federal judge in Florida last week had to declare a mistrial after an eight-week drug trial after learning that no fewer than nine jurors had done online research about the case, according to the New York Times.

During his closed-door meeting with U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter, Wuest said social networking sites gave him an outlet "to journal my thoughts," according to a tape of the meeting.

More...