From Sharing With Friends to Sharing With Jurors: Social Media & Evidence

We have all heard that once it is on the internet it is out there forever—but, it also may make its way into court. The internet has created an atmosphere for communication with others in various ways and sharing more of our personal lives. Since sharing things with the world via the internet solidifies its existence forever, it is the perfect documentation to be used as evidence. From emails to social media posts, you are not only documenting your daily life but also documenting events that may be relevant to a case that is litigated in a courtroom. It may be evidence to help you in a case of your own, evidence used against you or, introduced into evidence if you are a witness to some relevant event. Internet communications and social media posts can be a productive and useful tool in court for evidence purposes but just remember that if you wouldn’t want it shared in the courtroom, think twice before sharing it with the world.