Case Law & Court Rules

  December 19, 2016, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued an order accepting a recommendation from the State’s Disciplinary Board to suspend an attorney for one year and one day for engaging in unauthorized practice of law. Among other counts, the Respondent allegedly maintained a LinkedIn profile representing to […]

  On April 27, 2017, the Nebraska Supreme Court ordered the suspension of an attorney from the practice of law for a period of 90 days followed by 1 year’s monitored probation. The Counsel for Discipline of the Nebraska Supreme Court filed formal charges against the attorney. According to the charges, the attorney had taken […]

On September 30, 2016, a California federal court granted permission to serve process through Twitter on a foreign defendant. Plaintiff St. Francis Assisi (a non-profit corporation) sued the defendants Kuwait Finance House, Kuveyt-Turk Participation Bank Inc., and Hajjaj al-Ajmi (an individual) for damages and equitable relief arising from the defendants’ financing of the terrorist organization Islamic […]

On August 18, 2016, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) affirmed the administrative law judge’s (ALJ) ruling that Chipotle maintained an unlawful social media code of conduct that violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Chipotle fired an employee shortly after he tweeted several times on employees’ working conditions and wages. Chipotle social media policy included […]

The New Mexico Supreme Court cautioned judges to “avoid both impropriety and its appearance in their use of social media”. Although the case concerns an asserted violation of the Confrontation Clause, it is interesting because Defendant also raised the issue of social media posts made by the district court judge during the pendency of the trial. […]

Queens Supreme Court Justice Ira Margulis found a juror in a robbery case she was presiding on in contempt of court and fine her $1000 for posting comments on Facebook during trial, in violation of an expressed order form the Court. The juror’s conduct resulted in a mistrial, because she could not be substituted. In particular the […]

A divided Louisiana supreme court disbarred a lawyer opinion who utilized the internet and social media to raise an on-line petition on a matter she litigated and to urge the public to contact two judges (i.e., the judge of the Louisiana proceeding and the one of the Mississippi proceeding). While the hearing board and the disciplinary board had recommended […]

In this personal injury case, the Eastern District Court of Louisiana issued a discovery order for the production of a deactivated Facebook account. These the facts: an employee sued his employer for an injury suffered on the job. However, the employer filed a request for production of the employee’s Facebook account claiming to have seen […]

On April 20, 2015, the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly admonished and ordered additional education on the ethical use of social media to a Texas judge that posted on her Facebook page regarding matters pending before her court. According to the decision, the judge maintained a public Facebook page set up with the […]

On February 10, 2015, the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board recommended a one year suspension for a lawyer who utilized the internet and social media to raise an on-line petition on a matter she litigated and to urge the public to contact two judges (i.e., the judge of the Louisiana proceeding and the one of the Mississippi proceeding). […]