Juror who googled criminal defendant found in contempt of court

A juror who googled information on the defendant in a sexual assault case has received a six-month sentence, suspended for 12 months.

After failing to reach a verdict, Charlotte Potts and her fellow jurors were dismissed. Potts, who appeared as the forewoman, then researched the defendant's name online and found out evidence which had not been revealed during the trial. She told her fellow jurors the following morning that she had carried out the internet search and was changing her verdict as a result.

As a result of her actions, the entire jury was removed from the case and a retrial ordered. The costs of the aborted trial were estimated to be thousands of pounds.

After Potts informed her fellow jurors of her discovery, one of the jurors said she needed to tell the judge what she had done. The presiding judge referred Potts's conduct to the attorney general's office as a potential contempt of court. Proceedings for contempt of court were instituted earlier this year and the hearing took place yesterday.

At the hearing, the solicitor general, Robert Buckland, contended that Potts's actions in carrying out her own research into the defendant's background amounted to a contempt of court.

Buckland said that this was an important case to bring in order to protect the integrity of the jury system. Judges direct juries not to undertake internet research because it is vital that juries reach verdicts based upon the evidence they hear and see in court.

He continued: 'Criminal trials that have to be abandoned because of misconduct by a juror cause substantial inconvenience and distress to those involved. It also results in the wasting of precious public funds, as well as disruption to the administration of justice.'

Laura Clenshaw is the managing editor of Solicitors Journal

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