‘Facebooking’ juror ousted from panel after posting about murder trial
Superior Court Judge William Froeberg gave the woman and the other jurors on the case the typical warnings about no independent investigation, no consultation of any reference material, and no talking about the case with anyone else, not even other jurors, until deliberations begin.
Knowing the effects of this technological age, though, Froeberg gave additional warnings. He added "and the biggest evil facing the world today; the internet. Please stay off the internet ... oh, and Tweeting. We don't want any Tweeting or texting either."
Carney, 25, of Manorville, N.Y., faces 53 years to life if convicted. He has been charged with killing a fellow Marine in a secluded area of San Clemente, Calif. in a dispute about stolen drug money.
Many of the juror's entries were posted during times when she was in the courthouse. Among the posts were those one in which she said the case "intrigued" her and she wanted be in contact with the accused after the trial; that she felt the defendant was already "presumed guilty," and that another juror's knuckle-cracking annoyed her so much that "I want to punch her."
She also took pictures of other jurors' shoes in the courtroom hallway, presumably surreptitiously while holding her cell phone downward, and posted them on Facebook, too, along with insulting comments such as one she made about a pair of running shoes which she called: "clunky running shoes which I am pretty sure are not [being] used for their intended purpose."
The juror was dismissed, and an alternate was selected for the remainder of the trial. Froeberg admonished the rest of the panel as he sent the juror off.
"It is unfortunate in this day and age that things are taken so lightly, such as trial when people's lives are at stake. It is very disappointing to me to find this out," he said. "The rest of you, I don't want to have to deal with this again. Stay off the internet. Don't talk about this case, and certainly, don't be Facebooking."
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