She wrote about the trial in detail, including her thoughts on witness testimony, the performance of the lawyers, and even the jury’s deliberations. When the lawyers found out about her blog, they asked the court for the opportunity to question jurors about whether they’d been aware of it and the extent that they’d been prejudiced by Bradshaw.  The court denied the motion. 

Metra has now appealed that decision to the state’s highest court, reports NBC Chicago.  The NBC Chicago website has a video featuring some of the more outrageous comments Bradshaw posted.

For this legal professionals who read this blog, I’ll point out a particularly excellent resource on social-media policies:  a Resource Packet for Developing Guidelines on Use of Social Media by Judicial Employees, published last year by the Judicial Conference Committee on Codes of Conduct.

The Packet includes a brief but substantive overview of some of the ethical issues arising from the use of social media by court employees, as well as a primer for those who looking for a fundamental understanding of the tools before moving to regulate those tools. 

The Packet also includes sample language for use when drafting a social-media policy for judicial employees, as well as where to find such policies already in place.

Like the rules of professional conduct, which apply to lawyers’ online activities, the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees applies to all online activities, including social medial.  As explained in the Resource:

The advent of social media does not broaden ethical restrictions; rather, the existing Code extends to the use of social media. 

Although directed to judicial employees, the Resource contains valuable lessons for all legal professionals, as well as for employers generally.

For more, see the KDAF-TV report:

http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-facebook-tarrant-county-juror-charged-story,0,1030750.story

May a lawyer offer a prize as an incentive to connect to the inquirer on social-networking sites?

Put differently, “is it ethical to try to win Facebook friends with bribes?”  Ok, so maybe “bribes” is too strong a word.  Or maybe not.  The Committee concluded that, provided that the prize being offered is not illegal, the Rules of Professional Conduct do not prohibit a lawyer from offering a prize to join his social network.  But, the opinion goes on, if the primary purpose of the offer is the retention of the lawyer, then the prize will constitute an “advertisement” and, as such, is subject to the rules governing lawyer advertising.  And, if the prize is an advertisement and is targeted to specific recipients, and pecuniary gain is a significant motive of the prize, it also will constitute a “solicitation” and will be subject to additional restrictions.

I suppose I would find this opinion more interesting if it wasn’t premised on the idea that there are lawyers who think it’s a good idea to try to win friends with prizes.   I humbly suggest that buying your friends is never an advisable strategy for any professional.

For examples of jury instructions that address the issue of jurors’ online activities, see the Social-Media Research Repository, which is linked at the top of this page.   You also may be interested in these previous posts:

U.K. Juror Sentenced to Jail for Facebook Contact with Defendant

Social Media in the Jury Box

Potential Juror Dismissed Because of Tweet

Jury Instructions on Social Media (and Google Earth!)

FEATURES

Technology To Make Your Life Easier And More Secure  By Ernest Svenson.  Quick and easy ways to make your online activities more efficient, less frustrating, and more secure.

7 Great Legal Technology Law Blogs   By Natalie Huha.  Knowing what you don’t know can be half the battle. Turn to these 7 legal-technology blogs to find out what the pros know.

5 Ways to Create More Available Time  By Chuck Roberts.  Does time management seem like something from the science fiction genre? With easy-to-apply, proven techniques, effective time management can be much more like science and a lot less like fiction.

Save Time With Great Greetings and Voicemail Messages  By Dan Pinnington.  Voicemail is one of the most basic technologies and is used by just about everyone. So why don’t lawyers know how to use it effectively? Do yourself and your callers a favor by putting voicemail to use in the right way.

Redaction in a Digital World.  By Rick Borstein.  It is possible (and easier than you think) to effectively redact digital records—and avoid being the next news headline of a redaction gone wrong.

How to Capture More Time with Better Timekeeping Habits.  By Dan Pinnington.  When used properly, electronic timekeeping systems can help you turn time into money. 

How to Increase Profitability in a Shaky Economy.  By Marylou Steeden.  Even in an unfavorable economy, savvy law firms look at both the expense and revenue side of the profitability equation. By focusing on what’s really important, lawyers can demonstrate value to their clients and secure the relationships that are critical to financial success.

New Rules Are Changing the Law School Game.   By Ed Poll.  The number of law schools and the size of entering law-school classes continue to grow. Yet, the hiring outlook for newly graduated lawyers is far from positive. Can this seeming disconnect be reconciled before it’s too late?

Insourcing or Outsourcing E-Discovery?  By Dominick Jaar  (from ABA TECHSHOW 2011).    As a result of recent economic developments, corporations and law firms are seriously considering whether they should outsource E-Discovery. This article discusses building the business case and developing appropriate policies and processes to achieve a cost-effective and defensible E-Discovery response.

MEET THE WOMEN RAINMAKERS!  Mary-Christine (M.C.) Sungaila.   Interview by Susan Letterman White.  M.C. Sungaila has been named repeatedly as one of California’s Top Women Litigators and has successfully lead the appeals of cutting-edge issues affecting businesses on a state and national level.

DIGITAL EDGE, 45th Edition: How to Start a Law Practice   With Sharon Nelson and John Simek.

An attorney’s ex parte communication to a represented party intended to elicit information about the subject matter of the representation is impermissible no matter what words are used in the communication and no matter how that communication is transmitted to the represented party.

The opinion also addresses Internet contact with unrepresented non-party witnesses.  Reaching the same conclusion reached by the Philadelphia Bar Professional Guidance Committee in 2009, the opinion finds that the “duty not to deceive prohibits [an attorney] from making a friend request even of unrepresented witnesses without disclosing the purpose of the request.”  This question was addressed by the New York City Bar Association with a slightly different outcome.

SDCBA Legal Ethics Opinion 2011-2  (Adopted by the San Diego County Bar Legal Ethics Committee May 24, 2011).

Contempt charges have been used as a sanction when jurors disregard the court’s instructions not to use technology to communicate with others about the case while it is ongoing.  For example, a juror in the U.K. recently was sentenced to 8 months in jail as punishment for her communications with one of the parties in the case, which occurred via Facebook.

On June 16, London’s High Court sentenced the juror to 8 months in jail, according to the BBC News.