Juror dismissed after asking Facebook friends how she should vote on trial

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 06:44 EDT, 25 November 2008

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A female juror has been dismissed from a trial after posting details of the case on Facebook and then asking friends if they thought the defendants were guilty.

The woman posted details of the sexual assault and child abduction case on the popular social networking site.

'I don't know which way to go, so I'm holding a poll,' she wrote.

Unfair trial: A female juror has been dismissed from court after she posted details of the case on her Facebook page

Under the British constitution and in the interests of a fair trial, jurors are forbidden from discussing details of cases even with their closest family members.

After the juror's actions were discovered through an anonymous tip-off, the woman was last week removed from the case at Burnley Crown Court, Lancashire.

The trial continued with a jury of 11 people.

A Courts Service spokesman confirmed: 'A juror was dismissed from a case on November 18 for discussing a case outside the court.'

No further punishment has been announced by the Courts Service, but the woman could face action for committing common law contempt after discussing the case outside the court and jury room.

If found guilty, such an offence could lead to imprisonment or a fine.

One legal source told a national newspaper that some of the woman's friends came back with 'guilty verdicts'.

'Not discussing trials is one of the most important things jurors are told and is essential for a fair trial,' the Sun was told.

Farooq Ahmed, 27, and Hardeep Singh, 32, both from Leicester, and Portuguese national Nelson Caldeiro-Claudino, 26, were found not guilty of child abduction at the trial.

Ahmed and Caldeiro-Claudino were cleared of sexual activity with a girl of 14.

Caldeiro-Claudino, who was also cleared of a serious sex assault, earlier admitted to having sex with a 12-year-old girl and will be sentenced in December.