Limiting Juror's Access To Information

The limiting of access to information is pivotal to a juror maintaining neutrality. Criminal trials begin with the presumption of sanity and the presumption of innocence, however media and 24-hour cable news have created an environment in which innocence and guilt are often times decided in the court of public opinion. “When one considers the modern ease with which anyone, jurors included, can access the Internet with cell phones and other handheld devices, it should not come as a shock that jurors perceive, at least subconsciously, a defendant’s guilt even before that juror is selected for a case” (Simpler, 2012). While the media utilizes their First Amendment right of not being censored, media reports and the CSI Effect tarnish the sanctity of the court room, make it very difficult to find impartial jurors and infringe on a …show more content…
Therefore, limiting a juror’s access to mobile devices, the internet and newspapers is imperative in order for jurors to make a judgement solely based on the evidence presented at trial. For this reason, evidence presented in court must be collected in compliance with the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure and the requirement of a warrant based on probable cause. If evidence is obtained by law enforcement in violation of the Fourth Amendment, it falls under the exclusionary rule and would be deemed inadmissible. Many see the exclusionary rule as a way for guilty defendants to get away with breaking the law due to mistakes made by law enforcement. On the contrary, the exclusionary rule protects civil liberties and provides severe consequences to law enforcement if they do not comply with the proper procedures of the collection of