Facebook, Snapchat, X, and Instagram play a significant role in most American’s lives. As of January 2024, 239 million people in the United States are social media users, which is 70.1% of the total population.
With a majority of Americans using some form of social media on their smartphones, laptops, tablets, and desktop computers, it is no wonder it has become a critical part of many criminal cases. The content shared on social media channels as well as the features such as GPS and location finders can be used in a criminal case as evidence either for the defense or prosecution.
What Evidence Can Be Found in Social Media Accounts? Social media is a treasure trove of information about an individual from feelings on certain issues to linking individuals through “friends” with or “followers.” It can also play a significant role in shaping the opinion of a jury in a case that is related to information found on social media channels.
Posts, pictures, tags, “likes” and other features on social media are extremely helpful to law enforcement agencies investigating crimes to determine an alibi, track someone’s movement, gather intelligence and identify other suspects. For example, a defendant’s post may show an image that can help determine that they were at a location at a certain time corroborating an alibi. Conversely, a location tag may place someone in an area away from the crime.
Another way that social media can be used in a court case is to sway the jury one way or another. Posts in a person’s own words can help paint a true picture of what an event was about.
With few laws on the books regarding social media law enforcement and criminal attorneys have a wide range of ways they can use the information found on social media accounts. Here is a little more on the ways social media is impacting our criminal justice system.
Social Media Used For Evidence Collection
Posts, pictures, timestamps and clicks can be used as evidence in a criminal case. Legal teams often scour social media to help them build a digital footprint of the case and use messages, pictures and other items posted to help prove or disprove an assertion in a criminal case. Many social channels such as Snapchat and BeReal use location tracking for users to find people nearby. This could be used by law enforcement to determine a suspect’s movements on the day in question.
Social Media Used To Impact A Jury
As mentioned above, social media is often used to corroborate evidence and to sway a jury. For example, if a witness is trying to portray themselves as an impartial person but their Facebook page is riddled with extremist views, a jury may wonder if their testimony is truthful. This could drastically shift the course of the trial and the outcomes in the case.
Social Media Illustrating Jury Bias
In another manner, potential jurors could potentially be chosen or eliminated from serving on the jury due to posts they have made on social media either by the prosecutors or defense teams. For instance, a juror who likes or comments on a social post regarding the case could potentially impact their impartialness in the eyes of the court.
Social Media Can Impact Public Opinion
In our world of televised court cases, it is common to hear or see posts from key members of a criminal trial. Whether it is an old post that is being used to contradict statements made currently or posts that give a negative impression of the individual, social media can most certainly impact public opinion.
If you are concerned about how social media could impact your court case talk to our qualified attorney or call us at the Law Offices of Patrick Conway.