Afternoon Briefs: Internet research is costly for juror; bar dues claim partly resurrected
Federal juror’s internet research cost over $11K
A federal judge in New Jersey has held a juror in contempt and fined him more than $11,000 for conducting internet research on a case, despite warnings against such conduct. U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler of the District of New Jersey had declared a mistrial after learning that the juror shared his internet findings with other jurors. The juror had researched a patch on the uniform of an immigration officer after fellow jurors suggested that it was a trade union logo. The juror said the patch was a white supremacist logo. The defendant was accused of resisting an immigration arrest. The fine represented the costs associated with empaneling the jury. (Law360, U.S. attorney’s office press release, Reuters)