“Juror’s Cellphone Not Subject to Search”

Cell phones have led to thorny legal issues.  For example, in Juror’s Cellphone Not Subject to Search (americanbar.org)(Feb. 21, 2023), Steven B. Chaneles, wrote that, in response to a post-verdict challenge:  “A federal appeals court ruled that a trial judge has no authority to order a search of a juror’s cellphone….”

The ABA article reports that a juror allegedly “had been posting on her private Facebook page during the trial about her jury service.”  The court held a hearing and:

[T]he district court judge ordered the juror who made the postings to preserve any electronic communications related to her jury service. When advised of the order, the juror responded that she had already deleted the posts. The defendant then moved for leave to conduct a forensic examination of the juror’s cellphone. The district court denied the request on the grounds that it lacked legal authority to order that search.

Id. (emphasis added).  The Sixth Circuit affirmed.  Mr. Chaneles added:

In ruling against a search, the court also expressed concern about the intrusion on a juror’s privacy interests and noted the special status of a juror deserving a level of respect beyond that compared to an ordinary witness.

He reported that the trial court also “found credible the juror’s testimony that she did not access outside information about the case notwithstanding the Facebook posts.”

For additional issues discussing cell phones, see:

• District of Maryland Sets Guidelines for Cell Phone Preservation in Place,
• Discovery From Cell Phones – Differing Civil and Criminal Protocols in Maryland,
• Defendant Unsuccessfully Argued that Plaintiff Could Not Show That Data on Cell Phone That Defendant Destroyed Was Relevant,
• Maryland Appellate Decision Permitting Limited Forensic Search of Non-Parties’ Cell Phones,
• Possible Additional Fallout From Alex Jones Cell Phone Disclosure,
• Two Recent Maryland Decisions on Authentication of Text Messages,
• No Sanction Despite Convoluted and Murky Explanation for Missing Texts,
• Sanctions Imposed for Fabricated and Unproduced Text Messages,
• Remote Deposition Misconduct – Again – With Novel Cure – Again, and,
• Expert Testimony Not Required to Show Ability to Disable Location Tracking on Smartphone.