please respond to Tabitha's thread separate from Joseph's thread. please list references or any citations if need be. Thank you!

In today's world, it is hard to have a jury selection process and find someone who isn't knowledgeable about some of the information against the defendant before going through the selection process. This is due to the different methods of social media they have access to. Whether they use smartphones, tablets, or laptops, jurors have access to many social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. During most trials, "a gag order can be issued by judges that forbid anyone directly involved in the case from talking to the press (Neubauer & Fradella, pg. 407, 2019).

Evidence pertaining to the case must always maintain a proper chain of custody. If that chain of custody is broken, then the evidence can become inadmissible during the trial. Evidence obtained illegally can also be thrown out. "A rule created by judicial decisions holding that evidence obtained through violations of the criminal defendant's constitutional rights must be excluded from the trial" (Neubauer & Fradella, pg. 322, 2019). Because evidence is such a huge aspect in building a case against a defendant, there are rules and laws to protect the defendant's rights. The Fourth Amendment prohibits officers from searching or seizure of property or evidence without proper documentation signed by a judge. "AKA a Warrant" "The Constitution, through the Fourth Amendment, protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. The Fourth Amendment, however, is not a guarantee against all searches and seizures, but only those that are deemed unreasonable under the law" (USC).

From the biblical perspective, Jurors are instructed to follow specific rules and regulations during the trial proceedings to prevent outside influences from tainting their decisions. Zachariah 8:16-17 "There are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD" (ESV).

References

Neubauer, D.W. and Fradella, H.F. (2019). America's Courts and the Criminal Justice System. Thirteenth Edition. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, Inc.https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?deploymentId=5802092456081338757419627878&eISBN=9781337560382&id=2058835905&snapshotId=3923485&Links to an external site.

English Standard Bible. (2016). Crossway Bibles. (Original work published 2001)

please respond to Joseph's discussion thread:

In this week's discussion thread, we were asked to describe the basic rules of evidence and how social media is becoming a problem when it interferes with the juror's ability to deliver an impartial verdict. In general, evidence is presented in trial to help prove a person innocent or guilty. However, evidence that is presented at trial are governed by a few basic rules that judges use to see if the evidence would be fairer with or without the piece of evidence (Neubauer & Fradella, 2019). Some of these rules that are listed in our assigned reading are best-evidence rule, chain of custody, competency to testify, hearsay, relevancy, cumulative or unduly prejudicial evidence, privilege, and lay opinions. The importance of gathering the evidence within our Constitutional provisions and rules of evidence is to provide the defendant with due process of a fair and unbiased trial. According to our reading, juries are supposed to decide cases based on two factors. The evidence that is presented during the trial and the legal instructions given to them from the judge.

However, in present times, jurors have access to 24 hour coverage on social media to any case that is ongoing. The problem with this is that potential jurors are already creating a bias for or against the defendant before it even goes to trial. With extensive pretrial publicity I would think it is near impossible to find any potential juror member that has a clean slate. When jurors access social media during trial to gather their own evidence, they would be violating the basic rules of evidence. What I mean by this is that the jurors are now considering extralegal factors to the case; information that was not admitted into evidence during trail.

From a biblical standpoint, I believe that scripture supports adherence to established rules within our criminal justice system. In John 7:51 it states, "Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?" (NIV, 2002). This scripture describes to me that a person is entitled to a trial so that their side of the story can be heard before being judged. Another scripture that I feel also backs my beliefs is Romans 12:17 which states, "Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all" (NIV, 2002). This scripture tells me that, be fair and don't punish someone before giving them due process. Do the honorable thing and provide a fair and equal trial.

References:

Neubauer, D. W., & Fradella, H. F. (2019a).America's courts and the Criminal Justice System(13th ed.). Cengage.

The Holy Bible(NIV). (2002). Zondervan.