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Social Media Use & Your Criminal Case

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Avoiding Social Media Is in Your Best Interests

Many people use social media to check their notifications, browse the news and engage with posts and other people before even getting out of bed. In fact, about 7 in 10 Americans use social media to connect with each other, according to a PEW research study. Considering that social media has become a heavily integrated part of our daily lives, it’s important to be cautious of its negative impacts on your criminal case.

Say, for example, you have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and/or Snapchat account. These are among the most common social media platforms used in America for the past few years. At least once a day, you engage with these platforms in the form of ‘liking,’ ‘commenting,’ ‘sharing’ and/or ‘posting.’ These actions seem normal, right? Well, they are, unless you are charged with a criminal offense.

If you are accused of a crime, we strongly advise against using social media in any and every way possible. Contact us online or by calling (201) 574-7919 to learn how to best fight your charges.

Social Media Use Could Lead to Self-Incrimination

Your Miranda Rights warn that anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. This applies to anything you say online as well. It may seem harmless to scroll through your Facebook feed and ‘like’ a funny post, or ‘retweet’ a compelling post on Twitter, but these actions may have consequences.

Let’s reflect on the countless school shooting/bombing threats, or threats of public violence made on social media. Many times, the people behind such online threats were caught and punished. Those who engaged with these threatening social media posts, via ‘likes,’ ‘comments’ etc. were also investigated. While this is a more severe example, it’s fair to say that everything you do on social media can work against you. If posting a photo from a wild night out online could prevent you from getting a job, you can surely believe that using social media following your arrest can hurt your criminal case.

Protect Yourself and Your Future: Stay Offline.

As soon as you are aware of your criminal charge, be very careful about what you do online. This doesn’t mean deactivate all of your social media accounts; the better alternative is to refrain from using social media and monitor your internet searches so that the court doesn’t use any questionable data against you.

If you are charged with something serious like a sex crime and you use social media, anything from ‘liking’ photos of people in swimsuits or spending too long on an underage female’s social media profile could harm your case.

It’s better to be safe than sorry. Contact the Law Offices of Joseph R. Donahue, LLC online or by calling (201) 574-7919 for a free consultation with our criminal defense expert!

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