People facing stressful situations sometimes turn to social media for comfort. They want to connect with their communities and get advice from others.
Criminal prosecution is easily one of the most stressful experiences a person might ever endure. Especially in cases where a defendant wants to prove their innocence, they may reach out to their community to advise them of their current legal struggles.
Social media can do more harm than good for those facing criminal charges. Their online activity can affect a criminal case in many ways, including through the three common manners briefly explained below.
1. Connecting a defendant to a crime
Nothing posted on social media is truly private, and even deleted content can turn back up during an investigation as evidence. Private messages, limited-audience posts and even responses to other people’s content can help connect an individual to an alleged criminal offense, strengthening the state’s case against them.
2. Altering jury perceptions
Jurors may be more inclined to give people who seem sympathetic the benefit of the doubt during a trial. Posts shared for their shock value, abusive messages and other content taken out of context can affect how jurors perceive defendants.
3. Creating secondary issues
People facing criminal charges sometimes rush to delete social media posts or messages. However, as mentioned above, social media platforms generally have a permanent record of even deleted or private content. People can potentially face secondary charges related to the destruction of evidence in cases where they attempt to remove information from their profiles.
Discussing typical social media activity and other concerns with a criminal defense attorney can help people respond effectively to pending charges. Defendants who have guidance can avoid mistakes that could affect their likelihood of prevailing at trial.