Facebook juror and defendant guilty of contempt

Juror contacted acquitted defendant online during multimillion-pound drugs trial, causing it to collapse A juror and acquitted defendant who made contact through Facebook during a multimillion-pound drugs trial, causing it to collapse, have been found guilty in what is believed to be the UK’s first prosecution for contempt of court involving the internet. Joanna Fraill, 40, admitted contacting the defendant via Facebook. The former foster parent, who was at the high court in London for the hearing, is facing up to two years in prison over the breach. The acquitted defendant, Jamie Sewart, denied contempt of court, but the case against her was found proved. The case was heard by the lord chief justice, Lord Judge, sitting with Mr Justice Ouseley and Mr Justice Holroyde, who said they would announce Fraill and Sewart’s sentences at a later date. Fraill admitted emailing Sewart, 34, while the jury was still deliberating in the drugs trail in August last year because she felt “empathetic” and saw “considerable parallels” between their lives. Sewart, who was acquitted at the trial in Manchester, admitted knowing that Fraill was a juror in the trial when she added her as a Facebook friend during jury deliberations. Sewart asked her in a Facebook chat on 3 August “what’s happenin with the other charge??”, to which Fraill responded by asking her to clarify her question. Fraill then wrote: “cant get anyone to go either no one budging pleeeeeese don’t say anything cause jamie they could all miss trial and I will get 4cked to0.” The solicitor general, Edward Garnier QC, acting on behalf of the attorney general, Dominic Grieve, accused Fraill and Sewart of acting in “plain contempt of court”. Fraill, a mother of three, sobbed and rocked back and forth as details of her Facebook conversation and internet research were read out in the high court. Peter Wright QC, acting on behalf of Fraill, denied his client acted out of a “cavalier disregard” for the judicial process and told the court how the breach had left her “depressed, isolated and in utter despair”. Wright said Fraill was “distraught and inconsolable” at what had happened and “terrified” at the prospect of imprisonment. A psychiatric report on Fraill, whose husband was also in court, reveals a “most unhappy adolescence, a troubled adult life” and “domestic misfortune on a very considerable scale”, Wright said. One of the defendants convicted in the original drugs trial, Gary Knox, is applying for his conviction to be overturned on the basis of alleged jury misconduct. Knox, the 35-year-old partner of Sewart, was jailed for six years after being found guilty of paying a police officer to disclose information on drug dealers. Crime Facebook Internet Digital media Media law Social networking Josh Halliday guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 14, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.