Publication Date

2016

Document Type

Article

Abstract

As we progress toward a post-digital age of individuals becoming one with technology, the legal profession will encounter an increasing number of jurors who have never known life without the Internet, social media or mobile devices. At the same time an increasing number of citizens are becoming dependent on digital technology, state supreme courts, state trial judges, and federal judges from across the nation are banning and confiscating cell phones, tablets, and other devices of connection to prevent jurors from engaging in misconduct. This article illuminates the unintended consequences that arise when courts remove from a sitting juror an individual mechanism of connection and possession. Combining research in the field of digital networking with the Supreme Court’s opinion in Riley v. California, the Author argues that individual expectations of constant connection and digital privacy will result in rushed verdicts and distracted deliberations when jurors are forced to separate from their smart phones.

Publication Title

Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Policy

Volume

30

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