Judges Stink At Social Media, And It’s Impacting Cases

One Minnesota judge, who thought his Facebook posts were only visible to family and friends, implied the guilt of a defendant in an ongoing sex-trafficking case, which led to a vacated verdict in the trial. That’s just one example of how less-than-savvy judges joining social media are having a negative impact on ongoing cases, and on public perceptions of judicial professionalism, according to an article by Dallas-based trial lawyer John G. Browning and Texas Supreme Court Justice Don R. Willett. The authors do not suggest that joining social media is bad in general – in fact, they are proponents of judges and lawyers joining the digital age. However, “certain rules must be followed,” they write in an article in the Texas Bar Journal. “Whether writing a 140-page opinion or a 140-character tweet, judges must always be judicious.”