Social media is a great place to stay in touch with friends and family, but it can also be an incredibly dangerous place to be if you have a current court case. Whether it is an immigration case or a personal injury case, posting the wrong thing on social media can lead to serious complications in the courtroom and make things unnecessarily challenging for you. Here are some of the most common social media mistakes that might impact your court case.
Posting Your Location
Many social media apps, including Facebook and Instagram, give you the ability to tag your location when making a post. Law enforcement can access this data and potentially use it against you in your case. For example, if you have a personal injury case and are seen tagging yourself in a tropical country on vacation without any apparent injuries, it can lead to unnecessary scrutiny – even if you are still hurt. Avoid tagging yourself in any posts for the duration of your case, especially public posts.
Oversharing Your Mental State
It can be stressful to be involved in any court case, even if you did nothing wrong. One of the most common social media mistakes that you can make is oversharing about your mental state on social media. When you are in emotional distress, it can be tempting to post something about it to connect with your friends and family. However, your words can be used against you and misconstrued to make it seem like you were implying or saying something that you were not.
Talking About Your Injuries
In a personal injury case or any other type of court case, information that you share about injuries, surgeries, physical therapy, and medical treatments can be used against you in court. This is particularly important in cases where you are alleging an injury. Even a simple post on a Monday morning saying that you feel great after a long weekend could be twisted to make it look like you said you were not experiencing any pain or issues. When in doubt, avoid posting at all to avoid making any social media mistakes.
Quick Social Media Tips
If you are currently involved in a court case, regardless of what it is concerning, you should:
- Make all of your profiles private
- Delete any posts that could be misconstrued
- Do not post photos that imply illegal activity, including photos wearing your seatbelt in your car that could feasibly have been taken while driving
- Remove any people that you don’t personally know or interact with from your friends list
- Avoid speaking about or criticizing the court, the police, or the justice system
- Turn off location check-ins
- Never post anything that you would not be comfortable with a judge and jury seeing
You Need Representation for Your Case from The Law Office of Elizabeth Anu Lawrence
If you are worried about the outcome of your DUI or DWI case, choose an experienced firm like the Law Office of Elizabeth Anu Lawrence to give you the help you need. Please give us a call at 443.352.3201. Skype and telephone consultation are both available to clients.