Texas Man Kicked Off Jury For Trying To 'Friend' Defendant

AOL News:

A North Texas juror got an unfriendly reaction from a judge after he tried to 'friend' the defendant on Facebook....

Jonathan Hudson pled guilty to four counts of contempt of court as a result of his actions, which his lawyer described as a "silly mistake"....

In 2009, the New York Times wrote a piece about the ways in which the Internet has contributed to a several mistrials across the country.

Some New York State Courts Closed from Hurricane Irene

According to the New York State Office of Court Administration, a number of courts, including several in the Southern Tier of upstate New York, are closing and/or rescheduling Monday’s court cases, due to Hurricane Irene.

People with business before the courts on Monday are urged to check the state’s official website, or contact the court first thing in the morning, to make sure their case has not been adjourned to another date.

Seneca County Group Targets Underage Drinking

The Seneca County Substance Abuse Coalition has received a grant to address the issue of underage drinking.

The first step is a survey of Seneca County adults. Youth in grades 9 through 12 will be surveyed in the Fall.

The purpose of the survey is to obtain input on Seneca County's

•Needs and Problems facing youth
•Attitudes, Beliefs and Practices toward underage drinking.

The information received will be confidential and will help the coalition develop a plan to reduce underage drinking in Seneca County.

Underage drinking may lead to both serious legal consequences and serious health and safety consequences. Seneca County residents: Please take 15 minutes and fill out this online community survey entitled “Prevention First-NY.” The deadline is September 30, 2011.

Federal courts again experiment with allowing cameras

From the Citizen Media Law Project:

The program, which was approved by the U.S. Judicial Conference last year and allows court-operated cameras to cover civil proceedings in 14 federal trial courts, is just the latest chapter in the long saga on the question of camera coverage of federal trial courts.

This is not the first time that the federal courts have experimented with camera coverage of their proceedings. From 1991 through 1994, the federal courts conducted a limited test of camera coverage of civil trials in eight federal district courts, which led to a recommendation that federal courts allow televised proceedings. But the Judicial Conference -- which sets policies for all federal courts except the U.S. Supreme Court, which sets its own rules -- rejected this recommendation, concluding in 1994 that “the intimidating effect of cameras on some witnesses and jurors was a cause for serious concern.”

The Judicial Conference then relented a bit, deciding in March 1996 to allow each federal Circuit to decide the issue for itself and the district courts in its geographic area, while strongly urging the Circuits to follow the Conference’s 1994 policy.