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Today, social media is a huge part of most people’s day-to-day lives. However, you may not be aware of the implications that your actions and posts on popular social media platforms can have, especially if you are facing criminal charges.
At the Law Offices of Steven J. Pisani, we want to ensure that you protect your rights and minimize the possibility of making your criminal charge situation worse. Keep reading to learn more.
After you are arrested, your emotions may be running high. It is easy to be caught up in the fear, frustration, and anger of the situation. However, sharing information about your arrest through social media can complicate your circumstances significantly.
For those who are facing criminal charges, if you post to social media, it may actually help the prosecution’s investigation of the crimes you were accused of. If you are arrested, there are a few do’s and don’ts to keep in mind after an arrest. These include:
You should never share the details about your arrest or the charges you face. Remember that this includes information regarding the arrest and anyone else involved. This includes other people who were arrested, witnesses, victims, police officers, and more.
This rule includes any type of content, including check-ins, shares, comments, photos, likes, location, tweets, and blog posts. It is best to stop posting completely during the pending criminal charges.
You should not delete past content on your social media accounts to try to bury potential evidence. It can be unearthed very easily. Also, if you delete content, it may be seen as a red flag or admission of guilt and result in an additional investigation.
Even if you have changed your privacy settings, the information that is shared with your friends, subscribers, and other communities on social media isn’t really private. Additionally, if a cooperating witness is part of your social network, they will have the ability to share the information you post with law enforcement and face no consequences.
After an arrest, it is best to avoid using social media. This will help you protect your rights and avoid more serious issues.
According to the Constitution of the United States Fourth Amendment, you have the right to privacy. This is called the expectation of privacy and is essential when distinguishing between what is a lawful search by the police and one that is not.
Some people assume that anything they post on social media will have these protections – especially if they have activated the privacy settings. What you should understand is that this is not the case.
Most government agencies, including law enforcement, will use different tools to gather evidence stored online. It is also no big secret that they will monitor these platforms to see if they can find potentially incriminating evidence.
According to a recent transparency report from Google, the total government requests for user information by way of subpoenas, search warrants, and other types of court orders have grown significantly in recent years. The United States makes up about 40% of all requests.
With that in mind, what is available through social media doesn’t require a court order or subpoena to access. The truth is that most evidence is gathered retroactively, which may damage your defense for the criminal charge.
If you face criminal charges in Colorado, you need to protect your rights by reducing what you are posting on social media, if not eliminating it completely during your active case. This is the best way to protect your rights and avoid posting something that may be used against you by the defense.
If you aren’t sure about social media and what you can and can’t post, reach out to our legal team. We can review your rights and help ensure you don’t post something that may impact your case.
Are you facing criminal charges? Are you worried about your rights and the information that has been posted on social media? Do you wonder if you can post on social media without harming your case?
If you answered “yes” to one or any of these questions, contact us today. At the Law Offices of Steven J. Pisani, we are here to help you and ensure that your rights are protected. Let us build a defense that will help you with your charges and ensure you don’t make the situation worse.
