The Law Of Facebook: The Altar Of Debauchery Or Prevailing Social Norms?

The Connecticut Supreme Court has affirmed a decision of the Appellate Court finding no reversible error in a probation revocation order.

The defendant/probationer was sentenced to prison on alcohol-related offenses and was subject to a  number of probationary conditions after her release.

At issue was the prosecutor’s submission of evidence consisting of a series of photographs from her Facebook page. The undated photos appeared to show her partying at, among other places, Yankee Stadium. Some of the photos had the message “this is why I’m hot.”

The prosecutor argued at the hearing that the photos evinced a violation:

…in all these pictures is again [the defendant] worshipping at the altar of alcohol and debauchery and lewd behavior. And why is that significant? It’s significant because the message didn’t get sent, and this individual refused to accept it.

The court describes the defense counsel’s reply:

…the alcohol-related behavior evident on the defendant’s Facebook profile was reflective of prevailing social norms, and the images were not representative of the way the defendant spent most of her time…

The court noted that the evidence would not satisfy the requirements of admissibility in a criminal trial but met the “minimal indicia of reliability necessary to pass constitutional muster in the context of a probation revocation hearing.” (Mike Frisch)