Attorneys can use social media to learn about potential jurors as long as they do not communicate with them, according to a new ethics opinion by the New York City Bar. In a formal opinion titled “Jury Research and Social Media,” 2012-2, announced last week, the bar group noted that it may be necessary for lawyers to look up jurors on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter because jurors have used those sites inappropriately. The bar pointed to a 2009 murder conviction that was overturned because a juror wrote about it on Twitter.
“Just as the Internet and social media appear to facilitate juror misconduct, the same tools have expanded an attorney’s ability to conduct research on potential and sitting jurors, and clients now often expect that attorneys will conduct such research,” the opinion said. “Indeed, standards of competence and diligence may require doing everything reasonably possible to learn about the jurors who will sit in judgment on a case. However, social media services and websites can blur the line between independent, private research and interactive, interpersonal ‘communication.’”
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