Juror Removed Over Facebook Post

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She was fined $250 and must write an essay

Mount Clemens — A woman who was removed from a jury for announcing a guilty verdict on Facebook will have to pay a $250 fine and write a five-page essay on the constitutional right to a fair trial.

Hadley Jons, 20, of Warren told Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Diane Druzinski this morning that she was “very sorry.”

Jons, a premed student at Macomb Community College, was a juror in a resisting-arrest case last month. On a day off from the trial, Aug. 11, Jons wrote on Facebook that it was “gonna be fun to tell the defendant they’re GUILTY.”

The defense attorney’s son found the post while researching jurors. Druzinski removed Jons from the jury the next day.

Druzinski told Jons that she violated her oath to be fair and impartial. The fine and essay are due Oct. 1.

“I believe it’s an appropriate resolution under the circumstances,” said Jons’ attorney, John Giancotti. Since the matter was a civil one, he said Jons will have no record “other than the spotlight she’s been under.” Associated Press contributed.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100902/METRO03/9020441/1409/metro/Juror–very-sorry–for-Facebook-post–to-pay-%24250-fine#ixzz0yQnKUI4y

The Internet Marketing Syndicate

I have been suspicious about this for some time. The Syndicate will divide the netizens into two groups: those under their protection and those who aren’t.

‘The Syndicate. That’s what they call themselves. The Syndicate. Like if they built a tree house {which they probably did} :: then they used a wood burner to carve that name over the extra wide door. The Syndicate. “Look Mom we named our club! It’s a name and a description … we’re super smart like that.”

‘The Syndicate is a cartel at the center of the get rich quick world of Internet Marketing. Each of the members tries to pass himself off as a freewheeling entrepreneur. An individual rising above :: a rogue :: fighting back against the workaday ways of our corpo-centric suburbanized society. Each sells a version of this easy freedom in a bottle to seekers … the sadder the seeker … the better. But the dream :: like the cake :: is a lie. Success in “the industry” correlates not with value :: individuality :: or effort … but with proximity to a toxic core whose basic operations constitute a serious felony and moral failing…’ Read more:
http://saltydroid.info/the-internet-marketing-syndicate/

Brain Teasers May Speed Up Dementia

Thinking too hard may actually damage the brains of some older people, it is claimed.

Engaging in activities such as doing crossword puzzles, reading and listening to the radio has long been thought to delay mental decline.

But new research shows that while at first they slow the decline of thinking skills, brain work-outs actually speed up the progress of dementia once it set in.

Study author Robert Wilson, of Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago said mentally stimulating activities may enhance the brain’s ability to function relatively normally despite the build-up of lesions associated with dementia. However, once diagnosed with dementia, people with a mentally active life are likely to have more negative brain changes than others.

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/09/02/doing-puzzles-could-speed-up-dementia-115875-22530648/#ixzz0yQlc7AbY