Court OKs Googling Jurors

Judge David Rand asked plaintiffs lawyer Mitchell Makowicz Jr. if he was Googling jurors' names in his courtroom on May 14th, 2009. According to the transcription of the courtroom found at law.com, the discussion went like this:

"THE COURT: Are you Googling these [potential jurors]?
[PLAINTIFFS COUNSEL]: Your Honor, there's no code law that says I'm not allowed to do that. I -- any courtroom --
THE COURT: Is that what you're doing?
[PLAINTIFFS COUNSEL]: I'm getting information on jurors -- we've done it all the time, everyone does it. It's not unusual. It's not. There's no rule, no case or any suggestion in any case that says ... .
THE COURT: No, no, here is the rule. The rule is it's my courtroom and I control it."

Judge David Rand made his decision based on what he thought was an unfair advantage. One of the attorneys in the courtroom brought a personal laptop while the other attorney did not have a computer. The judge thought it was only fair to even the playing field and not allow use of his laptop to find out more information about potential jurors. He even cited that the attorney should have asked for permission. An appeals court reversed the decision which now allows attorneys to use the internet for additional information.

First of all, I don't think attorneys should be able to "google" prospective jurors, they are clearly trying to gain an advantage which is exactly what Judge Rand thought. It will also open the floodgates allowing internet services to be available to all attorneys and to the courts. Do you really want the lawyers and the court accessing your facebook account, your google searches, and your emails? This is a scary thing to think about, but the trend in America is making personal privacy hard to come by.

Let Personal Injury Attorney David M. Clark and the Clark Law Office fight for your rights! Contact us online or call 517-347-6900.