California Court Suspends Sacramento Judge's Order For Juror Facebook Postings
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The California Supreme Court has suspended a Sacramento judge's order requiring a juror to submit his Facebook postings about a criminal trial so the judge could decide if the juror's comments constituted misconduct.
The justices on Monday granted the juror, Arturo Ramirez, a temporary stay of Judge Michael Kenny's order compelling Ramirez to give Facebook permission to turn over his postings about the 2010 trial involving a gang-related beating.
Kenny says he needs to see Ramirez' online comments to determine if the five people convicted received a fair trial. Jurors are routinely instructed by judges not to discuss the cases they are deciding outside court.
The stay issued by the Supreme Court will remain in effect until the court decides whether to hear Ramirez' appeal, which is being closely watched by electronic privacy experts.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
