Juror fined for contempt for checking witness connection on Facebook

A juror who used Facebok to check whether a witness in her case was the brother of a former work colleague, in defiance of a specific direction by the trial sheriff, has had a finding of contempt of court and £500 fine upheld by the Criminal Appeal Court.

Elizabeth Howden had been selected for jury service at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court. Both before and after the selection process the jurors were warned not to make any enquiries on Facebook or other social media websites about the case, and after the jury were selected they were asked if they knew the accused or anyone likely to be called in the case. Ms Howden did not respond at that stage. The jury were given further instructions before evidence was led and at the end of each day. On the morning of the third day Ms Howden volunteered to the clerk that she had checked Facebook because she thought she knew a witness's sister; this had confirmed her suspicions. After hearing submissions the sheriff removed Ms Howden from the jury but ordered a further hearing on the question of contempt.

The sheriff was aware that it was the third time Ms Howden had raised a matter, the previous two having been trivial, and raised a concern that she was attempting to get out of jury service, but this was denied for Ms Howden. However the sheriff considered her actions on this occasion to have been in wilful defiance of a court order and required to be dealt with in a robust manner. She decided against imposing a prison sentence because of the limited research undertaken and the fact that Ms Howden had volunteered the information to the sheriff clerk, and fined her instead.

It was argued for Ms Howden that her conduct was not an enquiry with regard to the nature of the charge or any matter surrounding the allegations in the indictment; her actions did not amount to a contempt of court but were “a legitimate enquiry to ensure that [she] was in a position to fulfil the oath she took at the commencement of the trial”.

The court (Lords Brodie, Bracadale and Matthews) disagreed. "In general terms and in more specific terms in relation to the internet and Facebook the sheriff gave the jury a clear instruction not to make enquiries in relation to the cas, the judges said. "The petitioner disobeyed it. The petitioner was accordingly in contempt of court. This petition must be dismissed."

They added that, given the extensive details of their lives that people post to social media, "Accessing the Facebook page of anyone who has contact with or any sort of connection to a witness who has or may give evidence at trial might provide all sorts of information about that witness which would be entirely inappropriate for a jury to know about."

Click here to view the opinion.