A juror in a Monroe County, N.Y., drug case let his thoughts about a prosecutor be known in a tweet. "I don’t know how much I’m allowed to tweet about the trial I’m sitting on, but at risk of a mistrial, the assistant D.A. prosecuting it is smoking hot," the tweet said. Within a day, he was booted from the jury, reports the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. The tweet made its way to a thread on Reddit. From there, the Monroe County Public Defender's Office and Assigned Counsel Office were alerted by readers of Reddit. Officials were able to determine the source of the tweet and alerted the judge, who removed the juror. Juries typically have alternates at the ready to step in if a juror falls ill or is removed.
Some saw the tweet as an ingenious way to be removed from a jury. Across the U.S., social media has become problematic with criminal cases and judges typically implore jurors to avoid social media during a trial. A New York State Bar Association report cited a questionnaire in which "46% of participants said they would search for a defendant on social media if they were serving on a jury." Mark Funk, who heads the county's assigned counsel program, said the local episode showed that the legal defense community bands together. His first call about the Tweet came from someone in another county. From there, the two defense lawyers on the case alerted the judge and "worked together to make sure their clients received a fair trial," he said. There were two defendants accused of drug possession. On Thursday, they were acquitted by the jury of all charges.