Juror jailed over online research

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1 Warmer
How many internet-related crimes can you think of? Which of these are likely to result in the perpetrator* being sent to prison? * someone who does something harmful, illegal, or dishonest

2 Key words
Write the key words from the article next to the definitions. contempt of court defendant grievous bodily harm (GBH) trial

juror proceedings retried

1. one of a group of 12 ordinary members of the public who judge a court case ________________________________ 2. someone who has been accused of a crime and is on trial ________________________________ 3. the crime of not doing what a judge in a court of law has ordered you to do ________________________________ 4. the process of examining a case in a court of law and deciding whether someone is guilty or innocent ________________________________ 5. the crime of attacking someone violently and causing very serious injuries ________________________________ 6. when a crime is heard and judged in court again ________________________________ 7. the actions taken, usually in court, to settle a legal matter ________________________________ acquit oath allegation appeal custodial sentence verdict

suspended sentence

8. to formally ask a court of law to change its decision ________________________________ 9. a punishment in which someone is sent to prison ________________________________ 10. time that someone will have to spend in prison only if they commit another crime within a fixed period ________________________________ 11. a formal promise, especially one made in a court of law ________________________________ 12. a statement that someone has done something wrong or illegal even though this has not been proved ________________________________ 13. a verb (usually used in the passive form) to state officially that someone is not guilty of the crime they were accused of ________________________________ 14. an official judgment made in a court ________________________________
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Juror jailed over online research

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9 Judge said her counsel, Charles Parry, had made a plea to the court to be merciful and impose a suspended sentence. Rejecting the plea, Judge said there was no sufficient basis for suspension. 10 He said other jurors were obviously concerned to ensure that their responsibilities as jurors were properly discharged. It also demonstrates that they had fully understood the prohibition against use of internet ... Her conduct in visiting the internet repeatedly was directly contrary to her oath as a juror. 11 Dallas, already suspended by the university, has now resigned her post at the main campus in Luton. The court had previously heard that she was a woman of good character, and that she had gained a degree in the UK, having arrived from Greece as a 19 year old. 12 In a hearing last week, she said she had been checking the meaning of grievous bodily harm on the internet then added the word Luton to a search which produced a newspaper report mentioning that Medlock had previously faced an allegation of rape. It showed he had been acquitted of the charge and included information not disclosed during his trial. 13 In a written witness statement to the judges, Dallas admitted that sometimes my grasp of English is not that good. 14 I did not understand that I could make no search on the internet, Dallas explained. I had no intention at all of prejudicing the jury in any way. I had no intention of disobeying what the judge said. I really apologize. I never thought it would cause such disruption. 15 The court heard that she had suffered depression. It emerged that Dallas had carried out internet research while jurors were considering their verdict. 16 Judge acknowledged that such cases posed a relatively novel dilemma for the courts. We are trying to produce a simple formula for use, he said. This is a relatively new area. 17 After the sentence was passed, Grieve said: I take no pleasure in bringing such cases but they send
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Juror jailed over online research

University lecturer Theodora Dallas jailed for six months for researching criminal defendant while serving on jury Owen Bowcott 23 January, 2012 1 A former university lecturer who carried out online research about a criminal defendant while serving as a juror has been jailed for six months. 2 Theodora Dallas, 34, who taught psychology at the University of Bedfordshire, was found guilty of contempt of court by three high court judges, including Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice. 3 The case highlights the growing problem courts face in ensuring jurors do not use the internet to investigate cases in an era when looking up facts on a computer seems an increasingly natural instinct. 4 Dallas, who conducted her research at home, was a juror in the trial at Luton Crown Court in July 2011. She told members of the jury what she had found out about the defendant, Barry Medlock, who was on trial for causing grievous bodily harm. The judge had to halt the case after discovering what had occurred, though Medlock was eventually retried and found guilty. 5 Dallas will serve three months and be on licence for the remainder of the term. 6 Contempt proceedings were launched by the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve. The judges refused Dallas permission to appeal but she can nonetheless apply directly to challenge the decision. 7 The Lord Chief Justice said Dallas, who was in court for the hearing, had deliberately disobeyed the trial judges instructions not to search the internet and added: The damage to the administration of justice is obvious. 8 Sentencing Dallas, he said: Misuse of the internet by a juror is always a most serious irregularity and an effective custodial sentence is virtually inevitable.

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Juror jailed over online research

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2010 found that two out of three jurors do not fully understand the legal directions given to them by judges when they retire to consider their verdicts. 20 Jurors deemed to have misbehaved are regularly being given custodial sentences. In December 2011, Matthew Banks, 19, was jailed for two weeks after he pretended to be sick and instead went to a West End musical in London when he was supposed to be serving on a Manchester jury.
Guardian News & Media 2012 First published in The Guardian, 23/01/12

an important message. By her action Ms Dallas halted a trial which was near completion and aside from the financial implications, her actions resulted in the victim in the case being forced to return to court and give evidence for a second time. 18 There can be little doubt that repeated warnings were given to Ms Dallas and her fellow jurors as to the prohibition on conducting research into the case which they were trying. Only three weeks earlier, the Solicitor General prosecuted juror Joanne Fraill for discussing a trial on Facebook; a case mentioned by the judge in his directions to the jury. 19 The duties imposed on jurors are becoming more rigorous. A report for the Ministry of Justice in

3 Comprehension check
Answer the questions according to the information in the article. 1. a. b. c. 2. a. b. c. 3. a. b. c. 4. a. b. c. 5. a. b. c. Theodora Dallas was on trial for grievous bodily harm. contempt of court. rape. Ms Dallas did online research into the defendant at home. at an internet caf. in court on her smartphone. Barry Medlock was on trial for grievous bodily harm. contempt of court. rape. Ms Dallas was sent to jail for ... three months. six months. three months with a further three months on licence in the community. She said she had carried out the research because she wanted to find out whether Medlock had a criminal record. she wanted to look up a legal term. she comes from Greece.
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Juror jailed over online research

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4 Collocations
Match the verbs on the left with the words on the right to make collocations from the article. Discuss their meanings and make example sentences for each one. 1. find 2. investigate 3. challenge 4. face 5. acquitted 6. prejudice 7. halt 8. give 9. conduct 10. consider 11. serve a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. on a jury a jury of a charge guilty a decision an allegation research evidence a trial cases a verdict

5 Word formation
Complete the table with nouns and verbs related to the words in the article. nouns 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. implications trial defendant appeal acquittal occur research verbs 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. allegation suspend investigate demonstrate completion disobey nouns verbs apologize

6 Discussion
Do you think that the juror should have been sent to jail? Why? Why not?

7 Writing
Write a letter to a newspaper or comment on an internet forum either supporting or opposing the decision to send Ms Dallas to jail.

8 Webquest
Find out about the British jury system at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CrimeJusticeAndTheLaw/Juryservice/DG_072707. Is the system in your country similar?
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Juror jailed over online research

Level 3 KEY

Advanced

2 Key words
1. juror 2. defendant 3. contempt of court 4. trial 5. grievous bodily harm (GBH) 6. retried 7. proceedings 8. appeal 9. custodial sentence 10. suspended sentence 11. oath 12. allegation 13. acquit 14. verdict

5 Word formation
nouns 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. trial defendant appeal acquittal occurrence research implications apology completion disobedience allegation suspension investigation demonstration verbs try (someone) defend appeal acquit occur research imply apologize complete disobey allege suspend investigate demonstrate

3 Comprehension check
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. b a a c b

4 Collocations
1. d 2. j 3. e 4. f 5. c 6. b 7. i 8. h 9. g 10. k 11. a

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