"just because you're paranoid, don't mean they're not after you."
-Kurt Cobain, Territorial Pissings
There’s
an article out on NBC News today about how police (and schools) monitor social
media sites. This shouldn’t come as a
surprise to you or to anyone, really. Your
government is watching you.
Watching. Judging.
And
if you are charged with a serious crime, you’ll be less than thrilled to know
that modern technology has gone to the trouble of collecting and documenting
evidence for the police. If you’d like
to read that full article from NBC News, you can find it below.*
All
social media activity is fair game during a police investigation. If your spouse dies under mysterious
circumstances, you can bet the police are going to be rooting through your Facepage
and tweeters, looking for any evidence whatsoever of an imperfect
marriage. If you complained a year ago via
status update that your hubby won’t take out the trash, that’s going to be
blown up on a monitor in high definition for the jury to see.
Whilst
gathering all of your social media data, the police are going to subpoena your
cell phone service provider for all of your records. This will allow the coppers to use what they
call “ping” data to pinpoint your exact location the moment your husband had
that mysterious “accident.” As long as
you are carrying a cell phone, you are carrying a bona fide tracking device
that will let the police know where you are at any point you have that
phone. Within feet. Not yards.
This
obviously doesn’t just pertain to Murder investigations.
Anyone
on probation or parole should delete their social media accounts IMMEDIATELY.
It
should go without saying (but it doesn’t) that when you FacepageFriend your
probation/parole officer and you put pics or status updates about your illegal
activity on the web, you are going to get in more trouble.
This
may sound like something you wouldn’t need to tell people. But I’ve had countless clients who got home
on a Thursday afternoon and updated their status something like “Can’t wait to
bust into that first cold beer!!!” or “Who fixin’ to roll this big blizzy laced
with hizzy? This guy!”
Guess
who gets called in for a “random” drug screen the next day? That guy!
Long
story short - social media, cell phones and pretty much any advancement in
technology whatsoever are all problematic for those who engage in activity not
approved by the masses.
Not
to mention people going through civil lawsuits, not-yet-litigated disputes over
things like contracts or property, and especially Divorce and Custody
cases. You might think it’s cool to brag
on the internet about all the ladies you’ve been slaying, but when you try to
get more overnight visits with your kids, you will regret the information you
put on the internet. Because some Judges
consider that to be a poor moral example.**
Again,
you can find the NBC News article below.
And
if you have any more questions about how the government is watching you and
wants to listen to your conversations, you can call me at 502.473.6464. My door is always open. Or you can go ask a homeless person. Apparently all that crazy paranoid ranting is
somehow legit.
Have
a fantastic day.
Greg Simms
MURPHY & POWELL, PLC
455 South 4th Street
Suite 1250
Louisville, KY 40202
**Take any advice I give you about
Divorce/Custody with a grain of salt. I’m
not really that kind of lawyer. For more
information about that stuff, see Rosalie Guthrie at Murphy & Powell PLC. And if she's not available, my little sister Rebecca Simms seems to know everything about that stuff.
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