13 Jun 2011

Juror faces jail for using Facebook in drugs trial

A juror who allegedly contacted a defendant through Facebook, leading to the collapse of a £6m drugs trial, faces contempt of court charges.

Facebook juror: Joanne Fraill is due in the High Court on June 14 (Image: Getty)

In a legal first for Britain, the Solicitor General, Edward Garnier, will open proceedings in the High Court tomorrow, his office has confirmed.

The case against Joanne Fraill and an acquitted defendant, Jamie Sewart will be heard by Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice.

An alleged Facebook conversation between the two saw the trial, which involved multiple charges and eight defendants, aborted in Manchester last year.

Just one of the defendants is behind bars; the remaining seven were cleared or served short sentences.

It was one of a series of four trials estimated to have cost the taxpayer £6m, running for two and half months.

The case of Ms Fraill, 40, and Ms Sewart, 34, of Bolton, comes alongside an appeal by another defendant from the Manchester trial, who is challenging his conviction in the wake of the alleged Facebook chat.

Convicted drug dealer Gary Knox is appealing against his conviction on the basis of alleged jury misconduct. His appeal will also be heard by Lord Judge.

Fraill is also accused of using the internet to research the case, against the judge’s orders.

An alleged Facebook conversation between a juror and a defendant saw the trial aborted in Manchester last year.

Both women face contempt proceedings, with Ms Sewart alleged to have asked Ms Fraill for details of the jury’s deliberations in relation to a charge they were still considering.

The case, which involved 500 witnesses and more than 10,000 pages of evidence, exposed a corrupt police officer’s links with a drugs ring in Bolton. Police officer Phil Berry, 44, was jailed for four years.

Both he and Knox, 35, were charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office. Knox was jailed for six years.

The court was told that Knox bought sensitive information on drug dealers from police in return for a £20,000 BMW and Premier League match tickets.

More recently by Lord Judge drew into focus the role of social media and Twitter in the breach of super-injunctions.

“Why are we assuming that the world of communications can never be brought under control?,” he challenged.