Social media usage has made it difficult for lawyers during jury selection, particularly when it comes to finding an impartial jury. Before the age of social media, news did not travel as fast, so potential jurors for an upcoming trial may not be as aware. Today, news is 24/7 and travels at breakneck speed – whether or not you’re actively social, it’s more likely now that you’ll hear more news items, quickly followed by everyone and their mother’s thoughts on it.

This is where an impartial jury gets tricky. During voir dire, potential jurors may be asked if they are familiar with the defendant, plaintiff, and/or the event that is going to trial. It used to be that major incidents were well known, but now even the more minor issues going to trial can be more well known than before. This will result in more jurors being aware prior to the selection process, and potentially being excused.

Social media poses another area of concern as it relates to an impartial jury – incorrect knowledge or predisposition. With the faced paced knowledge obtained through social media and online news outlets comes false information. Because news travels fast, and the new “journalists” are everyday people recording and commenting on what they see, there is a lot of room for misinformation. Not all people reading social and news sites will carefully consider the source or fact check before they believe information to be true. Therefore, if they are in a potential juror pool, they may have beliefs about the parts of the trial that are incorrect, leading to a juror bias.

This makes it trickier than before to select an impartial jury. It is also another reason that using social media research tools during the selection process can help. Simply put, this research tool can monitor an individual’s public facing online persona within moments to learn more about who they really are. It will also give insight into whether or not they are presenting themselves in a real light during jury selection.

At the broadest level, this type of research can uncover a potential juror’s bias or discrimination that may be a conflict during trial. More specifically, using this type of service can help with ensuring the selected jurors are in fact as impartial as possible to provide a fair trial.

For example, a potential juror is asked if they are familiar with the defendant. They may really want to be on the trial for some reason, or want to appear as though they are impartial, yet a quick scan of their online social presence may find that they were actively talking negatively about the defendant on Twitter right after the incident happened; therefore, it is easy to dispel the idea that they could be impartial during trial.

Social media has not made it easy to ensure an impartial jury, and the fear is that this is in fact an endangered species. However, lawyers can turn that around into a positive by employing social media data research tools to try to provide clients with the fairest trial possible.