This article is just too good and deserves a repost on the Business & Culture Blog. I am an Indiana technology lawyer focusing on entrepreneurial law, SaaS business law and technology law. As such, this article hits home as it lies at the intersection of social media and legal process. The article is by Robert Ambrogi and posted on the IMS Expert Services blog. I will repost it in 3 parts - all are worth reading.What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. The same is not true of what happens online. With increasing regularity, litigants, lawyers, witnesses, jurors and even judges are seeing their online activities come back to haunt them in court.
This month, Bullseye brings you the best of the worst – 10 of the most outrageous examples of people caught in the courtroom by what they did on Facebook, Twitter or elsewhere online.
Next month, we will tell you how to participate in social media safely, so that your online activities don't get you in legal hot water.
10. Counting keystrokes
Mary Mack, corporate technology counsel for the e-discovery company Fios Inc., once worked on a personal injury case in which the plaintiff claimed that his injuries left him unable to use his hands for anything but minimal activities. Searching the Web for information about the plaintiff, the defense team discovered that he was a blogger. Not only was he a blogger, but he was a prolific blogger.
Had the defense counsel simply confronted the plaintiff with his numerous blog posts, that probably would have been sufficient to discredit him. But the defense team went an extra step. It downloaded all his blog posts and calculated precisely how many keystrokes would have been required to write them all.
When the defense confronted the plaintiff with that number at trial, the plaintiff's facial expression no doubt said even more than his well-functioning fingers ever could.
9. Texting is a no-no
During a video deposition, the deponent, an executive of the company being sued, was in California. Plaintiff and defense counsel were in New Jersey. The deponent's pro hac vice attorney was in Michigan. The video stream showed deponent and his PHV attorney from only the chest up.
Turned out, deponent and his counsel were busy below chest level, texting each other throughout the deposition. No one might ever have been the wiser, had PHV counsel not inadvertently addressed one of these text messages to plaintiff's counsel.
Needless to say, plaintiff's counsel went straight to court, demanding to see the text messages. The defense fought their release, arguing attorney-client privilege protected them. A federal court in New Jersey sided with the plaintiff and ordered the text messages handed over. Texting was no different than passing notes, it ruled, and violated the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
8. Twittering from the bench
A magistrate in England found himself steeped in hot water after it was discovered that he was "tweeting" about his cases. It all came to a boil after another magistrate discovered the tweets and complained.
The tweets came after the magistrate was called in on a Saturday to hear bail applications for defendants arrested the night before. "Called into Court today to deal with those arrested last night and held in custody," he tweeted. "I guess they will be mostly drunks but you never know."
He continued to tweet as he heard the cases of three men accused of robbery. For example, one tweet said, "1st defendant. Conspiricy to rob TSB of £500,000. Good start - wrong previous convictions presented." He later concluded with this tweet: "Finished hearing bail. 3 refused for planning robbery of £480,000 from Tsb in Dawley, Telford."
When the magistrate learned that his tweets were to be investigated by a judicial advisory committee, he chose instead to resign from the bench. But even as he resigned, he maintained he did nothing wrong. Where better to defend himself but on Twitter, where he posted this explanation: "I didn't tweet whilst sitting in court but in the retiring room during the break and at the end of the hearing."
This month, Bullseye brings you the best of the worst – 10 of the most outrageous examples of people caught in the courtroom by what they did on Facebook, Twitter or elsewhere online.
Next month, we will tell you how to participate in social media safely, so that your online activities don't get you in legal hot water.
10. Counting keystrokes
Mary Mack, corporate technology counsel for the e-discovery company Fios Inc., once worked on a personal injury case in which the plaintiff claimed that his injuries left him unable to use his hands for anything but minimal activities. Searching the Web for information about the plaintiff, the defense team discovered that he was a blogger. Not only was he a blogger, but he was a prolific blogger.
Had the defense counsel simply confronted the plaintiff with his numerous blog posts, that probably would have been sufficient to discredit him. But the defense team went an extra step. It downloaded all his blog posts and calculated precisely how many keystrokes would have been required to write them all.
When the defense confronted the plaintiff with that number at trial, the plaintiff's facial expression no doubt said even more than his well-functioning fingers ever could.
9. Texting is a no-no
During a video deposition, the deponent, an executive of the company being sued, was in California. Plaintiff and defense counsel were in New Jersey. The deponent's pro hac vice attorney was in Michigan. The video stream showed deponent and his PHV attorney from only the chest up.
Turned out, deponent and his counsel were busy below chest level, texting each other throughout the deposition. No one might ever have been the wiser, had PHV counsel not inadvertently addressed one of these text messages to plaintiff's counsel.
Needless to say, plaintiff's counsel went straight to court, demanding to see the text messages. The defense fought their release, arguing attorney-client privilege protected them. A federal court in New Jersey sided with the plaintiff and ordered the text messages handed over. Texting was no different than passing notes, it ruled, and violated the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
8. Twittering from the bench
A magistrate in England found himself steeped in hot water after it was discovered that he was "tweeting" about his cases. It all came to a boil after another magistrate discovered the tweets and complained.
The tweets came after the magistrate was called in on a Saturday to hear bail applications for defendants arrested the night before. "Called into Court today to deal with those arrested last night and held in custody," he tweeted. "I guess they will be mostly drunks but you never know."
He continued to tweet as he heard the cases of three men accused of robbery. For example, one tweet said, "1st defendant. Conspiricy to rob TSB of £500,000. Good start - wrong previous convictions presented." He later concluded with this tweet: "Finished hearing bail. 3 refused for planning robbery of £480,000 from Tsb in Dawley, Telford."
When the magistrate learned that his tweets were to be investigated by a judicial advisory committee, he chose instead to resign from the bench. But even as he resigned, he maintained he did nothing wrong. Where better to defend himself but on Twitter, where he posted this explanation: "I didn't tweet whilst sitting in court but in the retiring room during the break and at the end of the hearing."
