Top Stories -   

1

Judge punishes juror for Facebook post with essay

tech now facebook
tech now facebook

View Larger Image

A A |  Email ThisEmail  | PrintComments (8) Facebook   

Date: Thursday Sep. 2, 2010 11:22 AM ET

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. — A Detroit-area woman who was removed from a jury for commenting about the ongoing case on Facebook has a longer writing task ahead: a five-page essay about the constitutional right to a fair trial.

A judge ordered the essay Thursday for Hadley Jons, three weeks after she wrote on Facebook that it was "gonna be fun to tell the defendant they're GUILTY." The trial, however, wasn't over.

"I'm sorry, very sorry," Jons, 20, told Macomb County Circuit Judge Diane Druzinski.

The post was discovered by the defence team Aug. 11 -- before the defence had even started its case -- and Jons was removed from the jury the next day.

Druzinski told Jons that it didn't matter whether she used Facebook to express an opinion or simply spoke to a friend about the case.

"You violated your oath. ... You had decided she was already guilty without hearing the other side," the judge said.

By Oct. 1, Jons must submit an essay about the 6th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and pay a $250 fine.

Jons declined comment outside court. Her attorney, John Giancotti, said the outcome was appropriate. He declined further comment.

Jons was a juror in a criminal case against Leann Etchison, who was charged with resisting arrest. She was eventually found guilty.

The Facebook post was found by Jaxon Goodman, the 17-year-old son of Etchison's defence lawyer.

"She'll think twice about how important being on a jury is," Goodman said.

Comments are now closed for this story

Dave T
said

That is why there is innocent men and woman in jail as we speak !!! Unreal she should have to talk to the pwople who have been wrongly accused and spent years in prison and now there out and see how she feels !!! PATHETIC !!!


Denise
said

Mark, I think you've missed the point. It doesn't matter if the defendant was eventually found guilty. How would you feel if someone you loved was on trial for a crime, and you found out that someone on the jury had decided from the get-go that they were guilty without listening to the evidence being presented? Just decided that someone was guilty...kinda spits in the face of the concept of "fair trial", doesn't it?


Louis
said

Mark, It isnt an issue of whethere she was found guilty..it was the fact that this juror made up her mnid BEFORE hearing the defence.Do we want a soceity where you go on trial and the jury just makes its decision on prejudices or their own opinions, rather than the evidence?


Al in Orillia
said

@MarkinTO, uh....NO!


JulieMTL
said

@MarkinTO: so what? that person wasn't supposed to post ANY comments at all nor talk about the case at all. It doesn't matter whether it was a guilty verdict or not


Peter
said

Poor woman. Watches the Fox channel and needs attention no matter what the cost to others or the justice system. The difference between stupidity and ignorance, is that ignorance can be fixed. But, not in America, not now and not for a long time to come. There is a well-oiled slide here into a cess pool of media hype and free-will.Sadly, this poor woman is not alone.


MATT SAMSON NB
said

no i disagree, in my opinion its a shining example how facebook is a public domain and you need to watch what you say, and realize everything you do on it or other similar sites will usually bite you back, just a thought, i think she may be a little sadistic enjoying saying guilty..


MarkinTO
said

"She was eventually found guilty."Anyone else see this as an exercise in futility?


Share with your social Network:

Facebook DIGG Newsvine Delicious Twitter StumbeUpon Reddit Yahoo! Buzz

 

Advertisement

Contest

Today's Top Stories

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen hold a panda bear at the Chongqing Zoo in Chongqing, China Saturday February 11, 2012. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)

Prime Minister Harper wraps up visit to China

More   4 Comments 4  

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures as he deliver his speech at a rally to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that toppled the country's pro-Western monarchy and brought Islamic clerics to power, Tehran, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Ahmadinejad teases 'big' new nuclear announcement

More

Firefighters and crews investigate after a bus rolled over on on Highway 28 near Redwater, about 65 kilometres northeast of Edmonton on Friday, Feb. 10, 2012. (Jordan Verlage / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Bus filled with people rolls over on Alberta highway

More  2 Video(s) 2

Most Talked about Stories

I think he was pushed to take matters into his own hands. I have a teenage son and if he was involved with a drug dealer I would be furious and try anything to save him like this father did for his daughter. Why do police often say they can't do anything until it's too late? Whether it be a drug dealer or an abusive spouse, the police can't seem to do anything until something really bad happens. In this case they could have raided the drug dealers home and arrested him. The whole town knew what was going on in that house but yet the police chose to do nothing. Release this man and give him a medal for doing the right thing by his daughter. I can't wait to see the episode on W5, I will certainly be watching this one.

Shelley

W5: How far would you go to save your child?