Smartphones like Apple's iPhone and RIM's Blackberry may be handy for looking up a quick fact, but they are causing headaches with legal proceedings as more and more jurors start conducting their own investigations online. The Internet research violates the instructions jurors are given by the court, and in many cases can result in a mistrial.

According to the New York Times, a recent eight week long Federal drug trial in Florida was declared a mistrial after the judge discovered that nine of the jurors had been researching the case on their smartphones. The jurors were in deliberation when the judge discovered what had happened, wasting the time that both the prosecution and defense spent in the court room.

Jurors are also causing problems by using their smartphones to blog and to post messages to Twitter and Facebook from the court room. Defense attorneys in the high profile Vincent J. Fumo trial are asking the judge to declare a mistrial because one juror told his Internet readers that a "big announcement" was coming on Monday -- the day that Mr. Fumo was found guilty.

In an Arkansas trial where a jury hit Stoam Holdings with a US$12.6 million judgement, the defendants are asking the court to overturn the ruling because one juror was posting messages on Twitter during the trial. In once instance, the juror tweeted "oh and nobody buy Stoam. Its bad mojo and they'll probably cease to Exist, now that their wallet is 12m lighter."

The problem the legal system is dealing with now is that jurors have easy and instant access to information thanks to their iPhones and Blackberrys. Most of that information, however, is off limits because it circumvents the legal system and can expose jurors to information that has been barred from the trial.

The problem for jurors is that in many cases they want access to as much information as possible before making a decision about whether or not to find a defendant guilty. Despite the judge's instructions that they are not to consider information that wasn't included in the trial, many jurors are now looking to the Internet for more information and to verify the facts that have been presented.

"There are people who feel they can't serve justice if they don't find the answers to certain questions," said Douglas L. Keene, president of the American Society of Trial Consultants.

So far, there doesn't seem to be an easy fix for the problem. Some courts are confiscating juror's cell phones, but most still aren't. Until courts find a way to control juror access to the Internet, there will likely be even more mistrials, and ultimately more legal bills for tax payers to pick up.