Juror 7's Instagram Story During Deliberations
Trial day 4. The jury began deliberating at 10:15 a.m. At 2:40 p.m. the paralegal sees a public Instagram story from Juror 7, posted during the lunch recess. It shows a courthouse cafeteria tray with the caption: 'Day 4 of jury duty. This case is wild-can't wait to tell my followers how it ends.' The post has 38 likes. A friend commented, 'Tell me everything!' Juror 7 replied with a thinking-face emoji. The judge's preliminary instruction prohibited discussing the case and researching it. The alternates were discharged at 9:30 a.m. after the jury retired. Opposing counsel has not seen the post. The paralegal must advise the attorney immediately while preserving the record and avoiding juror contact.
1. What immediate steps should the attorney take, and what must the paralegal avoid doing?
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Immediately preserve the post with a forensic screenshot or screen recording showing URL, time, account, and metadata; do not like, comment, follow, or message the juror or the friend. Notify the court and opposing counsel before the jury returns a verdict; do not wait to see the outcome. Ask the judge to question Juror 7 on the record, outside the other jurors, and to give a curative instruction. The paralegal should not investigate the juror's social media further or contact the friend. The attorney should also check whether any other jurors saw or discussed the post, but only through the court's inquiry.
2. What legal standard governs juror social-media misconduct, and what remedies are available after alternates are discharged?
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The governing framework is the Remmer extraneous-information hearing: once a colorable claim of external influence arises, the court should hold a hearing, and the party benefiting from the contact bears the burden of showing it was harmless. A social-media post during deliberations can be misconduct, but the post here shows intent to discuss, not actual discussion of the case. The court must determine whether Juror 7 received extraneous information, whether she discussed the case, and whether other jurors were exposed. Remedies range from a curative instruction and admonition to dismissal of the juror. Because alternates were discharged, dismissal after deliberations began creates a mistrial risk unless the parties stipulate to an alternate or the court finds the juror's vote unnecessary. Seek a mistrial only if the record shows prejudice.
3. How should the post be preserved and the record made?
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Preserve the post by capturing the URL, account handle, timestamp, device clock, and a hash if possible; download the story before it expires. Prepare a declaration from the paralegal describing exactly when and how it was seen, without editorializing. Ask the court reporter to transcribe the bench conference and the juror questioning. File the capture under seal if it contains juror-identifying information, but make a record of its existence. Do not delete or alter anything. If the court declines to question the juror, request a standing objection and a limiting instruction, and make an offer of proof.