28 Sep Judge Texts Back to Juror’s Friend Who Texted about Defendant

It was a big day for NY Onondaga County Court Judge Joseph Fahey (above) recently: the first text he ever sent. Why did he feel the need? According to the ABA Journal, the fact that an alternate juror in a manslaughter case got a text from a co-worker giving information about the defendant. Of course this was inappropriate, as jurors are not allowed to communicate with third parties about the case. According to www.syracuse.com, the case involves defendant Romeo Williams, charged in a death at a 7-Eleven in Syracuse, NY.

The juror notified the judge about the text. Fahey suggested the juror write back, and the juror said, “Why don’t you do it?” So the judge took the phone and wrote, “This is Judge Fahey. Do not send any more text messages about this case or there will be consequences.” The prosecutor in the case believes it is the first text of its kind at least in their county. It was not reported whether there was any response to the text.

Did the co-worker believe it was really the judge? Or maybe the juror playing a joke back? Hopefully the former. But in today’s all-connected social media world, keeping jurors pure gets harder and harder for sure.