The faces of justice: a study of the interpretation of emoji messages in the court process

Abstract

As emoji 1 become more commonplace in courtroom proceedings, a question arises: what role do emoji play in social media messaging? The author draws a comparison between oral communication and social media messages and concludes lawyers have been too quick to treat text and emoji as a bundle when they should be adopting a piecemeal approach. While emoji may add context and clarity to social media messages that might otherwise appear ambiguous; emoji interpretation is far from an exact science. By exploring linguistic, gesture, and non-verbal communication theory, the author intends to discuss the tension that exists when it comes to deciphering the meaning of online communications – that include emoji – in court proceedings. While there is a tendency to conflate emoji with text in linguistic and non-verbal communication theory, a proper evidentiary analysis requires a piecemeal approach. To permeate these dynamics, the author has researched Canadian, U.K, Australian, and New Zealand case law over the period 2015 to 2020 where emoji were referenced in court decisions. The paper focuses on the treatment of emoji by the courts in these cases. Finally, the paper reviews the relevant legal issues and concludes with a consideration of whether the existing laws relating to electronic documents ought to be reformed to accommodate the admissibility of emoji messages in court proceedings.