As Jurors Turn to Web, Mistrials Are Popping Up - NYTimes.com

As Jurors Turn to Web, Mistrials Are Popping Up - NYTimes.com:

Jurors are not supposed to seek information outside of the courtroom. They are required to reach a verdict based on only the facts the judge has decided are admissible, and they are not supposed to see evidence that has been excluded as prejudicial. But now, using their cellphones, they can look up the name of a defendant on the Web or examine an intersection using Google Maps, violating the legal system’s complex rules of evidence. They can also tell their friends what is happening in the jury room, though they are supposed to keep their opinions and deliberations secret.

The article opens with the story of an eight-week trial that had to be scrapped because not one but NINE jurors had been doing outside reseach.

Web 2.0? Web: Uh-oh!