Being charged with a crime can be overwhelming, frightening, and stressful. While you await trial at home, you might be looking to unwind, take your mind off things, and connect with people who make you happy.
In most cases, jumping on to your social media profiles is hardly a dangerous activity. But when you’re facing potential incarceration for a crime, your defense attorney may warn that this seemingly harmless pastime could have serious consequences on your case.
Why Attorneys Warn Social Media Can Impact Your Criminal Case
Before you log on and start sharing or commenting, think twice about your situation. If you aren’t careful, you could face the issues outlined in the guide below.
It Could Be Used to Defame Your Character
It’s common knowledge that when you’re applying for a job, your potential would-be boss might scour the internet looking for your social media profiles. Once they find them, they will likely review your page and activity to get a better sense of who you are as a person. In fact, In 2018, 70% of employers used this practice when screening applicants.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the opposing attorney will likely use the same practice to help build a case against you when you go to trial. If they find pictures, statuses, shares, or videos that can help insinuate negative attributes about your character, they’ll likely use these materials in court. For example, this may include sharing violent memes, inflammatory statuses with reckless language, or pictures of you engaging in criminal behavior. By showing these screen grabs in court, the opposing attorney will be able to plant the idea in the jury’s heads that you are more than capable of committing the crime in question.
It Could Be Used as Evidence Against You
Your social media activity can be used as more than just a means to shape the jury’s opinion of you. Depending on the unique details of each post, it can also be used as viable, legitimate evidence against you.
For example, perhaps you’re facing charges from a drinking-and-driving accident that resulted in bodily harm to another individual. Pictures, videos, or profile tags of you at a party or bar on the night of the accident could be used to prove to the court that you were drinking and under the influence when you got behind the wheel.
How to Avoid Any Complications with Your Trial
The most effective way to prevent these issues from happening during your trial is to avoid being active on social media as much as possible leading up to your court date. It won’t be difficult for the opposing lawyer to access your information, even if you set your pages to “private.” The less you engage and share, the less likely they are to find something that can be used against you.
Staying offline isn’t enough, though. You need to ensure your page is completely clear of any activity. This means letting your family members and friends know they shouldn’t tag you in statuses or comments or share content to your page, even if it seems harmless. You should also ask them to avoid sharing anything that relates to you, the case in question, or the crime on their personal page, as attorneys may scour related connections for potential evidence.
Talk to a Defense Attorney
Facing conviction for a criminal charge can be scary, especially if you’re worried about preventing complications. To ensure you’re well-prepared and educated, you need to work with a criminal defense attorney. Not only will they teach you how to remain off-the-radar leading up to your case, but they’ll ensure you stand the best possible change of avoiding conviction.