Google generation make bad jurors

The Lord Chief Justice has said that it might be better to present younger jurors with information on a screen instead of aurally, as young people brought up with the internet are not used to listening for long periods of time.

Lord Judge of Draycote, the most senior judge in England and Wales, said of young jurors: "Most are technologically proficient. Many get much information from the internet. They consult and refer to it. They are not listening. They are reading."

"One potential problem is whether, learning as they do in this way, they will be accustomed, as we were, to listening for prolonged periods," he added.

In certain cases, information is presented to jurors on screens, such as in complex fraud trials, but "not without difficulty and with great expense", he said.

Lord Judge said the courts need to adapt to technological advancements. He said that he did not have solutions to these concerns, but he suggested that the courts system must be "capable of development and adaptable for the future".

He also conceded that it was inevitable some jurors would defy a judges' directions and make "private enquiries" into a case using the internet.

In one case, a juror went online using a BlackBerry-type device during a rape case, causing the conviction to be quashed.

www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk