Tagged: Jury Selection

N.J. Judge Dismisses Potential Juror for Attempting to “Friend” Defendant on Facebook

As recently reported by The Press of Atlantic City, on November 4, 2010, the Honorable Raymond Batten, J.S.C., dismissed a potential juror after defense counsel advised that the juror attempted to “friend” his client on Facebook. The potential juror was dismissed from serving in the trial of Atlantic City Councilman Marty Small, LuQuay Zahir and ten others who are accused of voter fraud during the councilman’s unsuccessful bid for mayor in 2009

NJ Courts Allow Internet Usage in Court

Imagine you are in a New Jersey courtroom and have begun the jury selection process. When presented with one of the prospective jurors, you think that you have read about him or her in a recent article. As a result, you open your laptop and begin to surf the Internet to research the individual, but your adversary objects, stating that he or she does not have a computer. Will the judge rule in your favor? The answer is “yes” based upon the Appellate Division’s recent opinion in Carino v. Muenzen, 2010 N.J. Super Unpub. LEXIS 2154 (App. Div. Aug. 30, 2010).