LinkedLegal: Investigating social media as evidence in courtrooms

Abstract

The pervasive nature of social media suggests it would increasingly appear as evidence in the courtroom as it has increasingly documented daily life. This research examines the use of such evidence through the review of appellate judgments. It has identified 5,189 appeal cases in federal and state jurisdictions for the period from 1 October 2000 to 30 September 2017. California was used for the state jurisdictional analysis and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes California, was used for the federal. In 2017, there was a 350% increase in Ninth Circuit cases using social media evidence as compared to the first cases in 2010. There was a 3933% increase in the California state cases from the first cases in 2007. Photos/images evidence were used the most in State criminal cases and all Federal cases, while posts evidence was used the most in State civil cases.