The police are thorough and creative when gathering evidence of your involvement in a criminal offense. You don’t want to make a mistake that hands them the evidence they need to obtain a conviction.
One mistake accused individuals often make is taking to social media to vent their frustrations and talk about their case.
How social media use may negatively impact your criminal defense
Social media can give you a forum to unload your burdens, but it can also put your criminal defense at risk. Here’s how:
- It can give the police and prosecutors statements that are inconsistent with what you’ve provided at another time, which can make you look guilty and jeopardize your credibility.
- It can give the police statements and photographs that show that you were part of a crime.
- Social media posts can devastate an alibi you provided to the police.
- Posts and even private messages to family members and friends could leave them susceptible to the subpoena power, at which point they’d be forced into court to testify against you.
- Social media posts can portray aspects of an unsavory character that won’t play well with the jury.
As you can see, there’s a lot at risk when you use social media at a time when you’re under investigation. So, do your best to stay away from social media altogether until your case resolves.
Build an aggressive criminal defense to protect your future
A seemingly minor slipup in your criminal case can have devastating consequences. That’s why it’s imperative that you do everything you can to protect yourself. This will require knowledge of the law and how to argue it to your advantage, which might be stressful to think about. But don’t let the stress of it all paralyze you into inaction.
Instead, educate yourself and seek out any guidance that you might need to build an effective criminal defense.
