Hong Kong government to take no action against internet-using jurors – at least this time
Department of Justice was considering whether to prosecute jurors who did internet research of a court case they were involved in; action may be taken in future cases
The Department of Justice has decided not to press charges against jurors at a criminal trial who allegedly breached contempt of court rules by deliberately collecting outside information from the internet, after Hong Kong’s appeal court faced its first such challenge to the system of trial by jury.
A leading media law academic suggested the courts put in place measures such as asking jurors to sign a specific declaration, as is done in some US courts, to ensure jury members understand what is expected of them.
On February 29, the Court of Appeal handed down its decision in a case against Chen Huandi, who was convicted of one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug before a judge sitting with a jury.
The sole ground of appeal was that Chen did not receive a fair trial on the basis that a juror had allegedly carried out research on the internet about the case and discovered that the hearing was a retrial.
The Court of Appeal eventually ordered another retrial after it found that two members of the jury had acted contrary to the trial judge’s express directions by doing their own research about the case on the internet after they were empanelled and before the verdict was delivered.