The court did not confirm if the social media user was truly in contact with a juror.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan on June 7 alerted counsel for former President Donald Trump and the Manhattan District Attorney of a juror confidentiality breach, raising the possibility of a mistrial.
“Today, the Court became aware of a comment that was posted on the Unified Court System’s public Facebook page and which I now bring to your attention,” Justice Merchan wrote in a letter.
“In the comment, the user, ‘Michael Anderson,’ states: ‘My cousin is a juror and says Trump is getting convicted Thank you folks for all your hard work!!!!’”
The comment had been made on a post unrelated to Justice Merchan’s courtroom, for the appellate division in the New York Supreme Court.
The court did not confirm if the social media user was truly in contact with a juror.
The post was made on May 29, the day the jury began deliberations, one day before the guilty verdict on May 30.
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It could raise questions of whether jurors discussed the case against the judge’s strict instructions and the degree to which they may have been influenced or researched the case outside the courtroom.
The defense is expected to question the partiality of the jury, referencing their previous motion for a change of venue, given that the post suggests the jury had been about their verdict prior to reviewing evidence and a day’s deliberation.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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