These days, the process of jury selection has been transformed by the prevalence of online conversations. Choosing the best jurors for your case no longer depends exclusively on each person's answers to a questionnaire and their responses during the voir dire interviews.
Due diligence when empaneling a jury now includes checking each potential juror's social media posts to ascertain the person's perspective as it affects the case. This background checking process involves looking deeper than simply searching for any comments about the actual case that is being tried.
You also need to examine social media profiles to gain an overall view of each person's general worldview, lifestyle and political stance. For example, a potential juror with very strong online statements related to gun control may not be able to be unbiased when seated on a jury for a gun-related crime.
Peter Hecht, Magna Legal Services, October 24, 2016
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