It seems jurors for the I. Lewis Libby Jr. trial have to close their eyes and stick their fingers in their ears until the case is closed.
Judge Reggie B. Walton dismissed one juror who admitted to having contact with outside information connected to the perjury trial, as reported in a Feb. 26 New York Times article.
When jurors are selected, they take an oath to not read, watch or listen to any news coverage that is linked to the case — even if the contact is unintentional.
According to the Times, the released juror did not purposefully seek out news, but Judge Walton said he had no choice but to release her after the third day of deliberation.
Now the jury sits with only 11 members. While it is important for Judge Walton to enforce the oath, the dismissed juror was released quite hastily.
The new installments in the Libby trial appear in many news sources daily. When jurors go about mundane routines, such as checking email and watching television, they will no doubt face headlines to stories about the case.
If they can dodge these occurrences, that should be acceptable. The jurors have to be allowed to live their lives. No one can be expected to live in a bubble while sitting on the bench for a court case in the spotlight.
With such a high-profile case as the Libby trial, avoiding information about it seems like an increasingly difficult task. It’s ironic, but in a lower-profile case in which news coverage would be easier to avoid, it seems the enforcement of this oath would be more lenient. But in a nationally followed case in which the news practically finds its readers, jurors are dismissed for simply viewing a minute amount of information.
If all the jury members read are headlines, they won’t come across much that is news to them, anyway.
Removing one juror seems illogical. If one member unintentionally came across outside information, it is likely that others have as well. It is nearly impossible to police this type of behavior — without invading the jurors’ personal lives, the judge can only rely on the oath they all take.
Worrying too much about the jury’s conduct will detract from the attention that must be given to such an important trial in U.S. history.
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