JUDICIAL USE OF FACEBOOK EXAMINED BY DALLAS COURT OF APPEALS

 In May, the Dallas Court of Appeals decided an appeal from Collin County concerning judicial use of Facebook. The defendant unsuccessfully argued that the judge was not impartial, because the judge and the father of the defendant's girlfriend were designated as Facebook friends, and because the judge received a non-adverse communication from the father of the defendant's girlfriend via Facebook.

The Dallas Court of Appeals noted that no Texas court had addressed a judge's use of social networking media until now. The American Bar Association and various legal scholars seem to believe that a judge's use of social media is harmless, so long as it does not violate any rules of confidentiality or judicial integrity. In fact, some people have argued that judges would become out of touch and ineffective if forbidden to have social lives, and these days that includes using social networking media.

In this case, the Court of Appeals accepted the District Attorney's strong argument that the judge had not engaged in any improper conduct.https://askcompetentlawyer.com/business-commercial-litigation/ The judge and the girlfriend's father were Facebook friends because they were acquaintances from campaigning at the same time, and that was the extent of their ongoing relationship. The judge stopped reading as soon as he realized that the message was improper, and he explained to the father of the defendant's girlfriend that he could not receive communication outside of court about the case. The judge also notified the State and the defendant and the judicial conduct commission. In summary, neither the Facebook friends designation, nor the communication, had any influence on the proceedings.

The reasoning in this decision might prove useful to both sides in criminal cases. It is easy to forget the importance of having independent judges. It is also important to remember that judges do not have to be hermits; when they are not on the bench, Judges can live like normal people, and that includes Facebook-ing!