What You Say (or Post in Social Media) Can, and Will, Be Used Against You!
Facebook has become a factor in a growing number of Nevada Family Court cases. I have personally utilized this as a source to research opposing parties. I have seen questionable pictures and can usually identify a list of witnesses from the “friends” list of an opposing party. In an article published by ParentDish last year (“Divorce Lawyers: Facebook Tops in Online Evidence” by Leanne Italie), some interesting mistakes were noted, including:
- Husband goes on Match.com and declares his single, childless status while seeking primary custody of said nonexistent children.
- Husband denies anger management issues but posts on Facebook in his “write something about yourself” section: “If you have the balls to get in my face, I’ll kick your ass into submission.”
- Father seeks custody of the kids, claiming (among other things) that his ex-wife never attends the events of their young ones. Subpoenaed evidence from the gaming site World of Warcraft tracks her there with her boyfriend at the precise buy generic proscar online time she was supposed to be out with the children. Mom loves Facebook’s Farmville, too, at all the wrong times.
- Mom denies in court that she smokes marijuana but posts partying, pot-smoking photos of herself on Facebook.
There are other articles that outline the dangers of Facebook – “Facebook Fuels Distrust, Divorce” by Wolfgang at www.singleparentgossip.com. Here is our advice if you have a Facebook account and are in a pending Family Court case:
- Absolutely do not post anything that you don’t want the Judge to see.
- Be careful who you try to “recruit” to your side, because your words may be used in the case against you.
- Don’t post any compromising photographs (or, better yet, don’t let them exist to begin with).
- Become familiar with and utilize the privacy settings to minimize who has access to your information.
The bottom line is to be aware and know that what you post, especially if there is anything negative, is likely to show up in Court.
Melissa L. Exline