Juror kicked off for Facebook request

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SARASOTA, Fla., Jan. 2 (UPI) -- A Florida man removed from a civil trial jury after sending a Facebook friend request to a defendant was "very close to going to jail," an attorney said.

Senior Circuit Judge Nancy Donnellan removed Jacob Jock of Sarasota from the jury Dec. 13, one day after he sent the Facebook request to Violetta Milerman, one of the defendants in the personal injury lawsuit from a traffic accident case, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported Monday.

Jock said he accidentally sent the request while browsing the Facebook pages of the defendants to see if he knew any of the involved parties.

Damian Mallard, an attorney in the case, said Jock was "very close to going to jail for all of this." He said Jock appears to have sent the request only 20 minutes after the judge instructed jurors not to contact anyone about the case or perform independent research online.

Jock was released with an admonishment from the judge for failing to follow her instructions.