Social Networking and Cross Examination
The last decade saw the explosion of social networking sites. First it was MySpace, then Facebook, and in 2009 Twitter took the world by storm. Many attorneys have grabbed onto these sites as a means to help bring clients in the door. Their use, however, should continue once you are working on your client's case.
Sometimes your client may tell you what his or her ex put on Facebook, but more often than not you will have to go find it yourself. And you will be amazed with the information that many people still put out there despite the various privacy features available to them. For example, in a child support case a deadbeat father was pleading poverty until I cross-examined him with a print out of his Facebook page where he brags about buying a brand new car with cash. Another adverse party put recent pictures of himself on MySpace holding an assault rifle even though he was under a Domestic Violence Protective Order.
These are just a couple of examples of valuable information you can find about people that they simply broadcast to the world, but your clients may not think to tell you about. Similarly, your clients may not think to tell you about the things they have put on the web. I always ask, then look. I tell my clients that I prefer to hear it from them than on cross examination. The thing is, I have had clients who have put some obscene things on social networking sites and I have not yet been confronted with it in a courtroom. This tells me that most attorneys are not researching my clients online like I am theirs.
Of course, you must always be ethical-if your opposing party has an attorney you cannot "friend" them or send them a message through these social networking sites. But anything they put out there for public consumption is fair game and I've got several copies of it when I go to court.
So look up your clients online. Sometimes you will find a goldmine of information to use in cross-examination. It will help your case-and it can also make trials fun again!
Sometimes your client may tell you what his or her ex put on Facebook, but more often than not you will have to go find it yourself. And you will be amazed with the information that many people still put out there despite the various privacy features available to them. For example, in a child support case a deadbeat father was pleading poverty until I cross-examined him with a print out of his Facebook page where he brags about buying a brand new car with cash. Another adverse party put recent pictures of himself on MySpace holding an assault rifle even though he was under a Domestic Violence Protective Order.
These are just a couple of examples of valuable information you can find about people that they simply broadcast to the world, but your clients may not think to tell you about. Similarly, your clients may not think to tell you about the things they have put on the web. I always ask, then look. I tell my clients that I prefer to hear it from them than on cross examination. The thing is, I have had clients who have put some obscene things on social networking sites and I have not yet been confronted with it in a courtroom. This tells me that most attorneys are not researching my clients online like I am theirs.
Of course, you must always be ethical-if your opposing party has an attorney you cannot "friend" them or send them a message through these social networking sites. But anything they put out there for public consumption is fair game and I've got several copies of it when I go to court.
So look up your clients online. Sometimes you will find a goldmine of information to use in cross-examination. It will help your case-and it can also make trials fun again!
posted by Running With Plants at
6:31 AM
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