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Full-Text Articles in Law
A Status Update For Texas Voir Dire: Advocating For Pre-Trial Internet Investigation Of Prospective Jurors, Luke A. Harle
A Status Update For Texas Voir Dire: Advocating For Pre-Trial Internet Investigation Of Prospective Jurors, Luke A. Harle
St. Mary's Law Journal
The Internet provides trial attorneys an additional tool to investigate the backgrounds of prospective jurors during voir dire. Online searches of a person’s name and social media accounts can reveal information that could be used as grounds for a challenge for cause or to facilitate intelligent use of peremptory strikes. Texas lawmakers have not yet provided any official guidance as to whether attorneys can investigate prospective jurors online or how they might do so, should it be allowed. Texas’s current voir dire structure, judicial opinions, and ethics opinions, together, support the notion that Texas trial attorneys should be given opportunities …
Hearsay In The Smiley Face: Analyzing The Use Of Emojis As Evidence, Erin Janssen
Hearsay In The Smiley Face: Analyzing The Use Of Emojis As Evidence, Erin Janssen
St. Mary's Law Journal
Abstract forthcoming
Electronic Social Media: Friend Or Foe For Judges, M. Sue Kurita
Electronic Social Media: Friend Or Foe For Judges, M. Sue Kurita
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
The use of electronic social communication has grown at a phenomenal rate. Facebook, the most popular social networking website, has over 1,968,000,000 users—a number that has exponentially grown since its inception in 2004. The number of judges accessing and using electronic social media (ESM) has also increased. However, unlike the general population, judges must consider constitutional, ethical, technical, and evidentiary implications when they use and access ESM. The First Amendment forbids “abridging the freedom of speech” and protects the expression of personal ideas, positions, and views. However, the American Bar Association’s Model Code of Judicial Conduct and the Texas Code …
Recent Development: Sublet V. State: Authentication Of Evidence From Social Networking Websites Requires A Trial Judge To Find Sufficient Proof From Which A Reasonable Juror Could Conclude That The Evidence Is What The Proponent Claims It To Be, Denise A. Blake
University of Baltimore Law Forum
The Court of Appeals of Maryland, in three consolidated cases, held that a trial judge must determine that evidence from a social networking website meets the “reasonable juror” standard of authentication as a condition precedent to admissibility. Sublet v. State, 442 Md. 632, 678, 113 A.3d 695, 722 (2015). This standard requires a preliminary determination by the trial judge that a reasonable juror could find the evidence is what the proponent claims it to be.
The Qualified Privilege Of Texas Lawyers To Defend Their Reputations., Clement J. Hayes
The Qualified Privilege Of Texas Lawyers To Defend Their Reputations., Clement J. Hayes
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
The technology-based society of the twenty-first century offers vast Internet resources that afford individuals easy access to information and means of communication. As a result, people spend substantial time online. Some Internet sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Angie's List and Google, provide consumers an online forum for sharing experiences and opinions. This development, while in many respects beneficial, is not without its drawbacks.
Social Media And Our Misconceptions Of The Realities, Richard Sanvenero Jr.
Social Media And Our Misconceptions Of The Realities, Richard Sanvenero Jr.
Richard Sanvenero Jr.
This article will review the current laws of the expectations of privacy under the two-pronged Katz test, and more specifically other cases that the courts have tried to interpret the test as applicable to social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and e-mail. Since there seems to be “no light at the end of the tunnel” with any uniform decision within the courts on the Fourth Amendment protections against search and seizure when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy with social media. This reasonable expectation standard is developed by the users themselves who will allow their rights to be …
Keep Your “Friends” Close And Your Enemies Closer: Walking The Ethical Tightrope In The Use Of Social Media., John G. Browning
Keep Your “Friends” Close And Your Enemies Closer: Walking The Ethical Tightrope In The Use Of Social Media., John G. Browning
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
This Article will examine the ethical issues posed by lawyers’ use of social media platforms in light of the ABA Ethics Commission 20/20 changes to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Social networking has had a transformative effect both on the way society shares information and on the legal profession. Much of the discussion to date focuses on the discovery and use of evidence from social media sites in criminal cases and civil litigation, but attention must also be directed to the ethical quandaries posed by the legal profession’s use of social media. This Article will consider issues such as …
Social Networking And Judicial Ethics., Craig Estlinbaum
Social Networking And Judicial Ethics., Craig Estlinbaum
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Social network sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, Linkedln, and Twitter have become an increasingly ever-present feature in American life since first appearing in the late 1990s. SNSs now impact virtually all parts of daily life, and the judiciary is not immune to this effect. Recent statistics show that approximately 40% of judges nationwide utilize SNSs for personal, professional, and electoral purposes. Social media, like any public communication form, presents special ethical challenges for judges. In recent years, judicial ethics committees in various states have weighed in on these questions and have not shown any clear consensus. However, it is generally …