Arguably because of what is at stake, death penalty cases may not be the best way to understand how courts should approach juror misconduct. We quite understandably want near perfection in the conduct of a death penalty case and may well have a less exacting standard for a soft tissue injury auto accident case. But it is in the soft tissue auto accident case that a judge is more likely to find a juror sound asleep, and there maybe all kinds of cases where a juror wants to tweet their friends.

The Arkansas Supreme Court dealt with both issues recently and overturned a death-row inmate’s murder conviction because of jurors who tweeted and slept during his trial. The high court also said that because of changing technology, it is time to consider whether jurors should continue to be allowed access to mobile phones during trials.

The Supreme Court ordered a new trial in Benton County Circuit Court for Erickson Dimas-Martinez in the Dec. 30, 2006, shooting death of 17-year-old Derrick Jefferson in Springdale. Dimas-Martinez had been sentenced to death for capital murder and life in prison for aggravated robbery.

— S.W.3d —- (Ark.)

2011 Ark. 515

2011 WL 6091330