"Tweeting, Texting, Googling Banned for Mich. Jurors"

...but no restricting on a tweeting press.

This from the National Law Journal by way of the Indiana Law blog:

"Courts - 'Tweeting, Texting, Googling Banned for Mich. Jurors'

The Michigan Supreme Court has laid the hammer down on gadget-happy jurors in banning all electronic communications by jurors during trial, including tweets on Twitter, text messages and Google searches.

The ruling, which takes effect Sept. 1, will require Michigan judges for the first time to instruct
jurors not to use any hand-held device, such as iPhones or BlackBerrys, while in the jury box or during deliberations.

The state's high court issued the new rule on Tuesday in response to prosecutors' complaints that jurors were getting distracted by their cell phones, smartphones and PDAs, in some cases texting during trial or digging up their own information about a case and potentially tainting the judicial process. * * *"