Juror's Improper Internet Search

How frequently do jurors conduct their own research of the issues involved in a trial, despite being instructed to not do so? We will never fully know the answer to this.

As the Ontario Court of Appeal's decision in Patterson v. Peladeau, 2020 ONCA 137, shows, improper research by jurors does happen.

The plaintiffs appealed the trial judge's dismissal of motions to strike the jury and to declare a mistrial in a motor vehicle personal injury action. The motions arose from a juror improperly conducting an internet search.

The jury foreperson revealed that he had found a statutory provision on an Ontario government website on the weekend at the beginning of the deliberations and shared it with the other jurors. The statutory provision, which dealt with fault for automobile accidents, was irrelevant and inapplicable to the case. However, if it did apply, it could impact the apportionment of liability.

As the foreperson revealed that the statutory provision was the full extent of the extrinsic information and that no other juror had used the internet in relation to the case, the trial judge determined that he did not need to question the other jurors. Instead, he dealt with the issue through a correcting charge. He dismissed the appellants' motions to strike the jury and declare a mistrial.

The appellants appealed on the basis that the trial judge had failed to conduct a proper inquiry as to what extrinsic information the jury had obtained and failed to analyze its prejudicial effect. They argued that the trial judge should have polled every juror or permitted counsel to question them.

The Court of Appeal disagreed. It noted that a jury verdict may be impeached where the jury acquires extrinsic information if there is a "reasonable possibility" that the information had an effect on the jury's verdict. This test involves a "contextual, case-by-case analysis" that requires a link between the extrinsic information and the jury's verdict.

The Court of Appeal added that, where the trial judge learns that the jury acquired extrinsic information before the jury's verdict, and then conducts an inquiry and decides whether the individual jurors or the jury as a whole are suitable to continue with the trial, the Court of Appeal...