When you are accused of breaking a criminal law, you are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court. However, discussing your situation on sites such as Facebook® or Twitter® might do serious damage to your case. Here are ways using social media can affect your trial’s outcome.

3 Ways Social Media Can Impact Criminal Law Charges

1. What You Write Isn’t Always Private

Setting your online profile to private does not protect your posts from an investigator’s prying eyes. Law enforcement officials routinely search for information that leads to criminal connections and potential state witnesses. Your internet chatter may help prosecutors establish a motive for your alleged actions or give them probable cause to obtain warrants to search for evidence against you. 

2. Posts Can Be Used as Evidence

What people say in posts can incriminate them. Telling friends online you had three beers and a couple of shooters while watching a sporting event can bolster the prosecutor’s post-game DUI case. Posting an angry, threatening rant directed at someone you saw flirting with your date at a party may help the state prove its theory that you assaulted the victim.   

3. Pictures Can Put You at the Crime Scene

If pictures show you at the scene of a crime such as a bar fight or a theft from a store, those photos could lead to a conviction even if you are innocent. Prosecutors use photos to help their witnesses appear more believable, to prove identity, and to destroy defense alibis.

Wise individuals facing criminal law charges stay off social media and seek counsel from experienced attorneys. Since 1984, Kleveland Law Offices has been serving individuals accused of crimes throughout the Lancaster County, NE, area. Attorney Jeanelle S. Kleveland offers legal advice and representation in a wide range of criminal law cases. Call (402) 477-7776 or visit her law firm’s website to learn more about her practice and schedule a consultation.