Mich. juror who declared defendant’s guilt on Facebook during trial must write essay, pay $250

Judge punishes Michigan juror for Facebook post

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. — A Detroit-area woman who was removed from a jury for declaring the defendant guilty on Facebook before the trial was over has been ordered to pay $250 and write an essay about the constitutional right to a fair trial.

Hadley Jons of Warren, Mich. told a judge on Thursday that she is “very sorry.”

The 20-year-old woman was a juror in a case of resisting arrest. On Aug. 11, she wrote on Facebook that it was “gonna be fun to tell the defendant they’re GUILTY.” The trial wasn’t over.

The defense team discovered the post and Judge Diane Druzinski removed Jons from the jury the next day.

Druzinski told Jons that she violated her oath to be fair and impartial. The five-page essay is due Oct. 1.