It is fair to say that before trial and during jury selection, a trial lawyer should use all the tools at his/her disposal. Many of us will check LinkedIn to take a look at a potential juror’s profile. But, do not do that in the Northern District of California. Judge William H. Orrick has a standing order in his court for lawyers to not access LinkedIn. Judge Orrick says whenever someone checks a profile, LinkedIn sends a notice to that person, letting them know who has looked at their profile. Judge Orrick considers that notification to amount to a prohibited contact of a potential juror.

One law firm, Alston & Bird hired a jury consultant. The firm did not tell the consultant about the standing order. The consultant checked LinkedIn. That research eventually came to the notice of Judge Orrick. The Judge sanctioned the firm $10,000 for this breach of his standing order.

The trial attorney, however, noticed the violation and notified the court. She did the right thing. That may be why the sanction was not higher than it was. The Judge said he has no problem with lawyers accessing publicly available information. But, the potential juror should receive no notice. See ABA Bar Journal report here for more information.

We can argue about whether a notification amounts to contacting the juror. But, we can all agree that such a notification could lead to impermissible sorts of contact.