The use of social media has worked in some people’s favor and it has also nailed some other people and got them convicted. You should understand that police and investigators now use social media posts as evidence. Think of this, if you are the officer in charge of a DUI case, what will be your impression about the defendant if you find several posts promoting alcohol on his Facebook account? The pendulum of your impression will definitely swing against him. If he loves alcohol so much, chances are high that he may have committed the crime. Guess what? He could be innocent!
People want a large social media network. They want millions of friends and followers so people are on “adding” and “confirming” spree. They add or confirm people they don’t know. Wondering why that is a problem? An investigator may easily gain access to your account by adding you and you may confirm him unknowingly if you keep confirming every Tom, Dick, and Harry that adds you.
Social media may be for fun but there is a flip side to it. Circumstances can put your social media posts against you by adding a meaning to your innocuous posts. Ponder on this. You have a Facebook friend that is a gun enthusiast. He derives fun from shooting all kinds of guns. He visits different gun ranges and makes a lot of posts about guns. At that point, there seems to be nothing wrong with it. You feel he is just obsessed with guns right? One day, serious violence occurred in a certain part of your city and it involved sporadic shooting and a few people got killed by stray bullets. You suddenly came across your “gun enthusiast” Facebook friend among the suspects being paraded by the police. What will your impression be about him in connection to the shooting? This guy must be the ringleader. Little wonder he can’t do without guns. The truth is, he may not be guilty after all.
Due to the fact that some people have been convicted in DUI cases based on what was found on their social media pages, this article gives a few words of advice to people facing a DUI case. The warnings are from a Denver DUI attorney By virtue of their profession, attorneys have seen several situations where social media posts worked against defendants. That is why these warnings should be taken seriously.
Never post anything about your DUI case
If your DUI case is still on, never post anything about it on social media. You could be misquoted or you could be misunderstood. Your seemingly harmless post could be taken for a cryptic message. This is because investigators now search for evidence even on social media.
Yes, the Fourth Amendment protects you from unlawful searches but it may not be an issue when the searches provide clear evidence against you. Don’t law enforcement officers lie sometimes to get the truth out of some suspects? It is easier, better, and smarter to watch what you post.
Give your attorney access to your social media accounts
Your attorney is experienced and he knows what can work in your favor on your social media account. He also understands what can be manipulated and used against you. If he has access to your social media account, he is likely to leverage on favorable posts to prove your innocence and if there are incriminating posts, he will advise you on what to do them.
Don’t just delete posts on social media
It is possible that you may have posted some pictures and videos before your DUI charges and you feel that posts could work against you. Don’t just delete the posts. Investigators may have the screenshots. Deleting posts could be seen as a sign of guilt. Instead, seek your attorney’s advice on them. He may eventually tell you to delete them. The point here is that once he sees the posts, he will sure be prepared to defend them should the prosecuting party throw in the cards.
Although this article focuses on DUI cases, the advice therein could be applied to all other cases. So, what you should take away from here is that you should be careful with whatever you post on social media, going forward. A case may come up against you in future. Your prosecutor may have scrutinized your social media accounts and taken several screenshots even before you get served a court notice. Remember, your social media posts tell a lot about who you are.
