The lawyers for former Pennsylvania State Senator Vince Fumo are calling for a mistrial because they claim a juror has been posting jury deliberation updates on the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook.

Attorneys NiaLena Caravasos and Peter Goldberger filed a motion yesterday seeking the removal of the juror or the declaration of a mistrial because a juror allegedly has posted several updates including on Facebook  ”Stay tuned for a big announcement on Monday everyone!” and on Twitter ”This is it . . . no looking back now.” A hearing is scheduled for later this morning.

Here’s part of what the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting this morning.

The petition, filed on the eve of the scheduled sixth day of deliberations in Fumo’s federal corruption trial, stated that there was “substantial evidence” that the juror, who was not identified, had violated admonitions not to disclose the status of deliberations.

The lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter to question the juror and other members of the panel.

“An immediate suspension of deliberations and a delicate but probing judicial inquiry is warranted,” lawyers NiaLena Caravasos and Peter Goldberger stated in the petition. “Depending on the results of that inquiry, it seems that one or more jurors ought to be removed and possibly replaced . . . or that a mistrial will be required.”

What do you think? Should the juror be removed? Is this enough for a mistrial?