Judge Herbert B. Dixon Jr. calls them ‘Internet trial torpedoes’ and U.S. media outlets refer to it as ‘mistrial by Google.’

They’re describing the phenomenon of jurors accessing the Internet before and during trials to learn about the witnesses or legal issues.

It is a vexing problem that undermines the fundamental legal principle that jurors must decide a case based on the evidence presented in the courtroom, Dixon told lawyers and judges attending the American Bar Association annual meeting here in Toronto. It wraps up Tuesday.

“No matter what we do, no matter how much effort we go to, there will be some jurors who will violate instructions.”

Dixon sits on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was the keynote speaker at a weekend seminar on judicial ethics and the challenges social media poses for the judiciary south of the border.

He came armed with examples.

Last year, a Florida judge discovered jurors in a drug case were conducting Google searches on the lawyers and looking up news articles about the defendant. A mistrial was declared and an eight-week trial went out the window.

In Maryland, an appeal court tossed a first-degree murder conviction because the judge refused a defence request for a mistrial after two Wikipedia articles were found in the jury room on the subject of body temperature after death. Time of death had been a contentious and crucial issue during the trial.

Then there was the prospective juror who blogged: “Now I get to listen to the local riff-raff try and convince me of their innocence.”

Dixon told the Star he has had no such incidents in his court, where he delivers a “new type of jury instruction. I start at the very beginning. You can’t text, you can’t email, you can’t talk about the case or look up terms on the Internet. I have found it works.” He also warns jurors about the consequences of violating court orders, including possible jail terms and fines.

The affable judge is a technology trailblazer who was involved with the design and construction of a high-tech courtroom in Washington. He is also technology columnist for The Judges’ Journal.

Dixon, originally from Georgia, studied electrical engineering before law school and his appointment to the bench, by President Ronald Reagan, in 1985. He was reappointed by President Bill Clinton.

True to form, Dixon introduced himself to delegates using an entertaining PowerPoint presentation before turning to the public’s widespread embrace of social media.

“One in five divorces are blamed on Facebook,” said Dixon, citing one of many jaw-dropping statistics he used to debunk any notion social media is a passing fad.

Dixon said he believes judges can combat juror cyberspace misconduct if they offer an explanation. “It interferes with my ability to ensure a fair trail” and could “jeopardize the results of a trial.”

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He repeats his instructions often.

“I start getting smiles,” when jurors recognize the familiar refrain, he said.