At every break during the high-profile Ellen Pao v. Kleiner Perkins trial, Judge Harold Khan reminded the jurors, “Do not form or express any opinions about the case. Do not do any research. Do not read any news reports. Do not Google the case.”
It seems pretty difficult to ask, as the trial is one of the most media-frenzied Silicon Valley has ever seen, with photographers often lurking near the women’s restroom hoping to catch a valuable snap of the constellation of Silicon Valley stars in the courtroom like John Doerr, Megan Smith and Reddit CEO Pao herself.
But in the hub of tech innovation, 35 miles from the Google campus, does anyone really believe the Ellen Pao trial jurors, who this week have been in deliberations, aren’t Googling such a highly Googleable group? And what would have happened had they innocently checked Twitter during one of their breaks and seen a headline like “Ball-busters who “kill the buzz”: Why the Ellen Pao case is a master class in sexism …’”?
Finding the truth
Juries serve an important role in our society, as a check on lawyerly zeal and as a touchstone of common sense. However, a jury only has one real job: They have to be able to follow instructions, including but not limited to Khan’s imperative, “Do not Google.”
