Quoted on Jurors Googling Information

Omar Ha-Redeye was quoted by Betsy Powell of the Toronto Star on Feb. 20, 2020, in
Court dismisses appeal over juror who Googled ‘irrelevant’ facts on the law,

Omar Ha-Redeye, a civil litigator and executive director of the Durham Community Legal Clinic, said in an interview that in similar juror Googling cases, the Court of Appeal has indicated that the best person to determine the impact on trial fairness is the trial judge who is there. Ha-Redeye was not involved in the Ottawa case but is familiar with the issue, which he says isn’t going away.

“We can expect, unfortunately, that jurors will continue to improperly access online information during trials,” he said Thursday.

The courts need to be “especially vigilant” so that “individuals who get selected for jury duty know it’s absolutely essential that they don’t do outside research, because it might be incorrect or misconstrued,” he said.

The article discussed a new decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal, in Patterson v. Peladeau, 2020 ONCA 137.