Quarter of jurors broke rules on using internet to research trial Jurors admitted they had looked up legal terms used in the case, used internet maps to visit the crime scene and sought information on people involved. The research follows a string of contempt prosecutions involving jurors and members of the public using the internet to discuss ongoing trials. Several juries have been discharged and some trials have had to be abandoned. Cheryl Thomas, Professor of Judicial Studies at University College London's Faculty of Laws, and author of the research, said in the age of new media jurors had to clearly understand rules on improper conduct. She said: "If we ignore these critical factors, then we run the risk of creating the ideal conditions for a perfect storm of juror contempt." The research published in Criminal Law Review found of those who misunderstood current rules, 16 per cent believed they could not use the internet at all during a trial, even to check their email. Five per cent thought there were no restrictions on their internet research and two per cent thought they could look up information about the trial as long as it did not sway their judgment. Six per cent had looked up legal terms, one per cent looked for the crime scene on mapping sites like Google Earth and a similar number looked for information on the participants. Jurors also said they were less likely to report their fellow jurors for misusing the internet than for other bad behaviour such as potential jury tampering and bullying. Prof Thomas said most jurors understood the rules and followed them, but "the message is not getting through and is confusing to a significant minority of jurors."