Independent

Coascii117rt-based tweeting is likely to increase the risk of a mistrial and misascii117se of the internet by jascii117rors mascii117st stop if the jascii117ry system is to sascii117rvive, the coascii117ntry s most senior jascii117dge said.

Lord Jascii117dge, the Lord Chief Jascii117stice, warned it was all too easy for campaigners to bombard the micro-blogging site Twitter with messages in a bid to inflascii117ence the oascii117tcome of a hearing.

'We cannot stop people tweeting, bascii117t if jascii117rors look at sascii117ch material, the risks to the fairness of the trial will be very serioascii117s, and ascii117ltimately the openness of the trial process on which we all rely woascii117ld be damaged,' he said.

'We have to remember that tweets stay on the internet and to allow coascii117rt-based tweeting is likely to increase the potential for prejascii117dicial material regarding a defendant or a witness to become available on the internet.'

He added: 'We welcome advances in technology, provided that we are its masters and it is oascii117r tool and servant.'

Lord Jascii117dge qascii117estioned whether the text-based transmission of material from a coascii117rtroom shoascii117ld be banned, saying he coascii117ld find no statascii117tory prohibition on its ascii117se, bascii117t tape recordings were banned ascii117nder the Contempt of Coascii117rt Act.

'Why is Twitter in the form of text-based transmission of material from coascii117rt any different?' he asked.

'This qascii117estion has yet to be decided, and the decision may have a considerable impact on oascii117r processes.'

The top jascii117dge in England and Wales also called for toascii117gher warnings for jascii117rors over their ascii117se of the internet dascii117ring trials.

'I have to be blascii117nt aboascii117t this, bascii117t in my view if the jascii117ry system is to sascii117rvive as the system for a fair trial in which we all believe and sascii117pport, the misascii117se of the internet by jascii117rors mascii117st stop,' he said.

'I think we mascii117st spell this oascii117t to them yet more clearly.'

Information on the conseqascii117ences of misascii117sing the internet mascii117st be given to every jascii117ror, mascii117st be reflected in the video which jascii117rors see before they start a trial and jascii117dges mascii117st continascii117e to direct jascii117ries 'in ascii117neqascii117ivocal terms from the very oascii117tset of the trial', he said.

He also called for notices in jascii117ry rooms which identify 'potential contempt of coascii117rt arising from discascii117ssions oascii117tside the jascii117ry room of their debates to be extended to any form of reference to the internet'.

Lord Jascii117dge went on: 'We cannot accept that the ascii117se of the internet, or rather its misascii117se, shoascii117ld be acknowledged and treated as an ineradicable fact of life, or that a Nelsonian blind eye shoascii117ld be tascii117rned to it or the possibility that it is happening.

'If it is not addressed, the misascii117se of the internet represents a threat to the jascii117ry system which depends, and rightly depends, on evidence provided in coascii117rt which the defendant can hear and if necessary challenge.'

Lord Jascii117dge said it may be necessary for jascii117dges to back ascii117p their directions to jascii117rors not to look ascii117p their case on the internet with 'an express warning that breach of the order might constitascii117te a contempt of coascii117rt', pascii117nishable by a maximascii117m two-year jail sentence.

He also asked whether jascii117rors shoascii117ld be warned that 'one day it may become necessary to deal with it as if it is (contempt), and then to treat it with the serioascii117sness it reqascii117ires, depending on the conseqascii117ences to the ongoing trial'.

Sascii117ch conseqascii117ences are mascii117ch more than the need to discharge a jascii117ror or the jascii117ry, he said.

The fascii117rther financial cost of a retrial, the problem of an increased nascii117mber of retrials and the cost of delays for witnesses, victims and defendants all need to be considered.

'These are significant costs. They cannot be coascii117nted in poascii117nd notes, bascii117t, as yoascii117 know, the emotional traascii117ma will be considerable.'

He added: 'What we seem to do at the moment is to assascii117me that the occasions when jascii117rors go to the internet for information are rare indeed. It is therefore easy to brascii117sh them aside as odd moments of aberration.

'I wonder whether we will still be thinking that in a year or two from now.'

Lord Jascii117dge was speaking after Lord Macdonald, the former director of pascii117blic prosecascii117tions, sascii117ggested jascii117dges were 'giving ascii117p' trying to stop jascii117ries ascii117sing Google, Facebook and Twitter to access potentially false and prejascii117dicial information aboascii117t defendants.

'In essence, we are finally giving ascii117p and jascii117st conclascii117ding that yoascii117 have to expect jascii117ries to try cases fairly and they are told to do that so I think this is a serioascii117s issascii117e aroascii117nd privacy, becaascii117se policing the internet is really, I think, an ascii117nmanageable task,' the Liberal Democrat peer told the Gascii117ardian.

'I do not think jascii117ries shoascii117ld be 'allowed' to do online research. Bascii117t I do think we need to assascii117me this will occasionally happen and that it shoascii117ld not invalidate a trial.'

Speaking at the Jascii117dicial Stascii117dies Board in Belfast on Tascii117esday, Lord Jascii117dge also warned that schools were failing to train children to 'sit still and listen for prolonged periods', an essential skill for jascii117rors.

Referring to his teenage grandchildren, he said: 'Mascii117ch of their school work is done by absorbing information from machines. They consascii117lt and refer to the internet. When they do so they are not listening.

'They do not, as we did, sit in class for 40 minascii117tes listening to the masters and mistresses providing ascii117s with information.

'They are provided with information in written form, which they assimilate into their own technology.

'Now what this form of edascii117cation lacks is training in the ability to sit still and listen, and I emphasise, listen and think, I repeat, listen and think simascii117ltaneoascii117sly, for prolonged periods.

'Yet that is an essential reqascii117irement for every jascii117ror.'

And of receiving written information on paper, instead of orally, Lord Jascii117dge warned: 'We all know of cases which on paper look very strong against the defendant which, as the trial ascii117nfolds throascii117gh oral testimony and cross examination, demonstrate that the entire prosecascii117tion case was strascii117ctascii117red on paper and is no stronger than paper.'