Impact of Social Media on the Criminal Justice System

More and more people are incorporating social media into their lives with each passing day. Any form of social media can affect the outcome of any criminal case if used inappropriately. It is imperative that a good criminal defense attorney takes extra steps to keep his clients from incriminating themselves further by indulging in any form of social media during trial. Lawyers must also have some level of understanding how this new media works. Sometimes the most relevant evidence in a criminal case for both the prosecution and defense comes from some kind of social media. For example, if a client is facing a domestic violence charge one common condition is for the client to have no direct or indirect contact with the complainant. Before such advanced technology was at our fingertips, a lawyer might explain the meaning of this condition by telling his/her client not to call the complainant (direct) or send messages through a mutual friend (indirect). However, with what we have at our disposal these days, lawyers will need to take that explanation further and include these social media devices, this could include: "unfriending" on Facebook or "unfollowing" on Twitter and "disconnecting" on LinkedIn. If such precautions are not taken the client could be risking the conditions of the "no contact" order and could be re-arrested.

If you have any question about how social media could impact your case, please contact our firm today to speak with an attorney.