Lawyer: Toss Ark. murder conviction due to tweets

November 17, 2011 at 8:12p.m.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A lawyer for a man sent to Arkansas’ death row for robbing and shooting a teenager after a party says his murder conviction should be overturned because a judge wouldn’t dismiss a juror caught tweeting during the trial.

Attorney Janice Vaughn told the Arkansas Supreme Court today that the juror was tweeting during Erickson Dimas-Martinez’s 2010 trial for the slaying of Derrick Jefferson, despite the judge’s instruction not to post on the Internet or otherwise communicate with anyone about the case.

Assistant Attorney General Eileen Harrison defended the judge’s decision to not dismiss the juror, saying the tweets were merely about the juror’s feelings and not about deliberations.

Courts in Arkansas and around the country are grappling with problems caused by jurors using social media during trials.