English Law Commission Recommends Criminal Penalties for Jurors Conducting Prohibited Internet Research

The English Law Commission has published a report on Contempt of Court: Juror Misconduct and Internet Publications that deals with 3 main topics:

• recommending a new criminal offence for jurors conducting prohibited research, that is research on aspects o a case beyond what is revealed in court proceedings;
• recommending an exemption of contempt liability for publishers relating to archived online material and
• recommending a limited exception to the prohibition on jurors revealing their deliberations, in order to reveal miscarriages of justice, or to participate in carefully controlled research.