Dr Dallas, Theodora (BSC Psycology PhD Pschology) has been enrolled over at The University of Crime: http://bentalumni.blogspot.com/
She had accessed the Internet from home where she conducted the research about the accused: http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/jan/23/juror-contempt-court-online-research
Breaking Gonzo News
The Bent Society team conducted a little online research and can break the news here that, ironically, the
Dallas was suspended as a result of her contempt of court. She has now resigned from her post as lecturer at the university of Bedfordshire where, we can verify through research conducted by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Crime - that she obtained her degree in psychology from the University of Bedfordshire.
We have to wonder about the honesty of her defense given that she was an expert on cyberstalking. We think it would have been better (since she had no feasibly successful legal defence) if she had made a statement to the effect that the law is an ass because it will have to be changed in the information age where we are all virtually hard-wired into the Internet.
Given the extent to which we rely on Google to find out answers to our everyday questions, we think that asking modern jurors not to look something up on the Internet is about as close as one can get to asking them not to think about something.
After all:
UCL professor Cheryl Laws claims that a ¼ of jurors have read on the Internet about the defendant on trial in the case in whch they are sitting . You can hear her talking about that here : http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b019rjnd
If you think
And visit the Free Theodora Dallas Facebook site here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Theodora-Dallas-This-Womans-Offence-Doesnt-Warrant-Jail/318531034858743
Do you think this is yet another one of those cases where the law has not caught up with the reality of the modern evolving world? Let us know your thoughts.
Is it sensible, and enforceable, that the law expects jurors in the information age not to use the Internet to research the trial they are spending days, sometimes weeks or even months, compelled to attend and judge as jurors?
BLog written by thee BS team - in association with the VC of the University of Crime.
1 comments:
Mainstream society has, and all western governments have encouraged us to make the internet part of our society through access to instant mass media information, for leisure, work and commerce - the huge popularity of mobile phones and i-phones etc to access the internet and now the success of APPS means many people are hardwired to the internet. The idea that it should be contempt of court when someone does what comes naturally to any human being who has been conditioned in this way is madness. The law will have to change. It will be too late for Theodora Dallas. I hope she can get her life back after what has been done to her.
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