Improper juror contact in social media case, judge warns press

LOS ANGELES -- Someone violated the judge's rule to stay away from jurors in the bellwether social media trial, Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl said Friday, suggesting the culprit was a member of the media and mentioning the possibility of a press gag order.

Prior to the start of continued testimony Friday morning, plaintiff's attorney Rachel Lanier of The Lanier Law Firm engaged in a lengthy side discussion with YouTube's lawyers. It was unclear what they were saying.

Superior Court Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl eventually took the bench, and all the attorneys immediately went to sidebar, then to the judge's chambers with the court reporter. They stayed back there for about 15 minutes in total after briefly returning and then going back again.

A few minutes after 9 a.m., when the trial was scheduled to start, Kuhl took the bench to address the entire courtroom on an apparent breach of her "no juror contact" rule. Meanwhile, the jurors were waiting in the hallway as Kuhl ordered her staff to shut the doors.

It was unclear whether it was a public or media member who breached the rule, but the judge warned that a "clear violation of my order" happened.

"I consistently advised all members of the media, public, attorneys ... to stay at the other end of the hall and away from the jurors," Kuhl said. "That obviously didn't happen."

When the trial first began this month, Kuhl told media and public members that she did not want any juror contact and ordered breaks and lunches to be taken in hallways away from the one directly outside of her first-floor Spring Street Courthouse courtroom. This includes a restroom across from the door that is for the jurors only.

The judge implied that there was improper juror contact during the plaintiff's testimony Thursday.

"Members of the media, the last thing I want to do is impose a gag order," Kuhl said, adding that she would hold a hearing on the matter if needed.

The judge also noted that "some members of the media" were not present Friday morning, and that she would issue another warning sometime next week.

"I hope that is clear," Kuhl said.

The jurors were brought in at around 9:09 a.m., and the plaintiff resumed cross-examination from YouTube's counsel, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati LLP partner Melissa J. Mills.

The case is Social Media Cases, JCCP5255 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Oct. 24, 2022).