The "hustle" case brought by the U.S. government against Bank of America (BAC) for mortgages underwritten by Countrywide is a big case, as it's the first time the government has pursued a major bank over loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
But apparently, at least one of the jurors wishes s/he wasn't involved:
The jury for the “hustle” case against Bank of America Corp. was thrust into the spotlight Friday after one member said lawyers for the defense had done research on him via social-media websites, a possible violation of pre-trial rules, writes WSJ’s Shayndi Raice.
The juror claimed lawyers at the firm Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, representing former Countrywide executive Rebecca Mairone, had looked at his profile on LinkedIn.
Judge Jed Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York said the lawyers in effect made contact with jurors when a first-year associate at the firm looked at their LinkedIn profiles and the jurors were notified by LinkedIn of who was viewing them.
The jusge later instructed the jury to disregard the contact and mover forward — but the fact that a juror brought this up suggests that the jury may already have issues before the case even has truly begun in earnest.
