The California Supreme Court wants to take a closer look at the Facebook juror case that originated in Sacramento.

In a Feb. 18 letter, the high court's clerk directs lawyers on both sides of the case to file briefs by next week.

The move makes one expert think the justices might want to conduct a full review of the case and possibly issue a written opinion.

"You wouldn't order the response unless you thought there was something there, if there was a case there," said McGeorge School of Law professor Michael Vitiello.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael P. Kenny on Feb. 4 ordered juror Arturo Ramirez to turn over to Facebook his postings from a gang-beating trial last year. Facebook would then forward the postings to the court.

Attorneys for the five defendants in the gang case wanted to look over the postings and responses from the juror's friends to see if he was biased against their clients. They also want to see whether he may have been influenced in his guilty verdict by his Facebook friends.

Ken Rosenfeld, the court-appointed lawyer for Ramirez, lost at California's 3rd District Court of Appeal in an effort to block Kenny's order. But state Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye stayed the order. And by ordering the briefing schedule, her court has indicated it is at least somewhat intrigued by the issue.

The court asked the defense lawyers who want to examine the juror's Facebook postings to file their briefs by Monday. It gave Rosenfeld three more days to respond.

The high court's action will delay a hearing that Judge Kenny had ordered in his courtroom for today. Kenny's hearing likely will be pushed back into the middle of March.

Vitiello said the petition filed by Rosenfeld "obviously states something that is substantial enough for the court to think it's worth having a response brief."

"It doesn't mean you're going to get a review, but I would bet you're going to get a review," Vitiello said. "It's a real interesting question."

Rosenfeld has argued in his court papers that Kenny's order violates the privacy rights of the juror, who himself violated a judicial admonition not to discuss the gang case while it was ongoing. The defense lawyers say they need to look at the postings to make sure their clients got a fair trial.

In another twist, the defense lawyers for the five reputed gang members convicted in the case are seeking their own attorney to represent them in the appeal to the state Supreme Court.

One of the five, Mike Wise, said the request was made to the publicly funded conflict defense panel, "and they've indicated they are going to appoint counsel for that purpose."

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