Times Tech Reporter's Court Tweeting Tale

New York Times technology reporter Mike Issac has written a "Times Insider" article (sub. req'd) on his experience covering the testimony of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a patent infringement case in a Texas federal court.

While Issac had obtained permission to use his electronic devices in the courtroom from the presiding judge, he was asked to stopping tweeting after court personnel apparently discovered that his tweets were getting widespread attention, including repetition by other media.

Court Affirms Love's Win in "Twibel" Case

A California appeals court has affirmed singer Courtney Love's victory in a libel case brought by her former attorney over tweets sent by the singer.

Appeals Court Considers Love's Win in Twibel Case

On Dec. 14 the California Court of Appeals, Second District, heard an appeal by attorney Rhonda J. Holmes of her loss in a jury trial in January 2014 to singer Courtney Love over comments posted to Twitter.

Tweeting Penalty Has Bad Character

An Arkansas judge has found the managing editor of a television station in contempt for tweeting the verdict in a murder case, despite explicit instructions from the judge not to do so. But the "punishment" imposed by the judge may create new problems.

Be aware: tweeting allowed in some courtrooms but not others

... Eric P. Robinson, co-director of the Program in Press Law and Democracy at Louisiana State University, advises journalists to get permission before tweeting from the courtroom unless the judge has a clear policy on the matter.

www.poynter.org/how-tos/newsgathering-storytelling/253548/tweeting-allowed-from-some-courtrooms-but-not-others/

Twibel Goes Down Under

On the heels of the first libel trial stemming from Twitter in the United States, there are reports that Australia had its own first "twibel" trial in November.

In the End, Love Wins

A jury found Friday that singer Courtney Love did not libel her former attorney when she sent a tweet stating, ""I was fucking devestated when Rhonda J. Holmes esq. of san diego was purchased off ..."

First U.S. Twitter Libel Trial Begins

Attorney Rhonda J. Holmes' libel lawsuit against singer Courtney Love began yesterday (Jan. 15) in California Superior Court in Los Angeles.  It is the first defamation trial in an American court based on statements posted on Twitter.

California Judicial Council Recommends Repeal of Law Criminalizing Juror Internet Use

cross posted at the Digital Media Law Project)
In August 2011, California adopted a statute making it a crime for jurors to use social media and the Internet to do research or disseminate information about cases. Now, two years after the law went into effect, the state's Judicial Council has recommended that the statute be repealed.

2014 May Start with Twitter Trial

We've been fooled before. Unless there's a settlement within the next three weeks, the new year will begin with a trial in the "twibel" case brought by a former attorney for Courtney Love over a tweet sent by the singer.

Picture This: Libel by Pinterest?

Two years ago, it looked like a lawsuit brought against singer Courtney Love by fashion designer Dawn Simorangkir would be the first libel trial over comments posted on Twitter. Although that lawsuit was settled, shortly thereafter Love was named as the defendant in a lawsuit brought by her former attorney for comments that Love posted on Twitter herself: a suit that is still pending.

Love continues to break ground in libel law involving social media: earlier this month, she was sued for libel over postings on Pinterest, in addition to comments on the Howard Stern Show. Once again, the plaintiff is Dawn Simorangkir, who claims that Love accused Simorangkir of stealing from her.

FYI: Social Media Can and Will Be Used Against You

Thanks to the ubiquity of cop shows on TV, we all know the prototypical Miranda warning (named after Miranda v. Arizona, which required the recitation): "You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right, anything you say may be used against you in a court of law."

Perhaps social media should contain the same warning. Because, according to a survey by lawyers.com (h/t to my colleague Eric Goldman), a majority of social media users in the U.S. do not know that their posts, tweets, check-ins, and other social media material can be used as evidence in court.

Icahn Tweets, and Tells the SEC

It took 266 characters -- if you don't count the headings and other preface matter -- for businessman Carl Icahn to inform the Securities and Exchange Commission that had sent his first tweet, which had only 58 characters.

British Ruling Sets Standards for Twitter Libel

(cross posted at the Digital Media Law Project)
A British judge's decision that a tweet by Sally Bercow (wife of the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow) libeled Lord Robert Alistair McAlpine (former Deputy Chairman and Party Treasurer of the Conservative Party and an aide to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher) shows -- if anyone still had doubts -- that tweets can indeed be libelous. In doing so, the ruling provides a good model for analyzing Twitter posts to determine whether they are defamatory.

Negligence Claims Against Twitter Won't Last

(cross posted at the Citizen Media Law Project)
A Tulsa, Oklahoma girl and her mother are suing Booker T. Washington High School and Twitter, alleging that another member of the daughter's basketball team held the daughter while another teammate took pictures of her in her underwear, and sent the photos as tweets.

Love's Twitter Suit Lives On

The lawsuit against Courtney Live by the law firm that represented her in estate of her husband Kurt Cobain over tweets the singer sent about her lawyer is continuing.

Washington Courts Confront Twitter Appeal

A man convicted in 2010 of murdering Mark Stover, a “dog whisperer” with celebrity clients including Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, ballplayer Ichiro Suzuki and musician Eddie Vedder, has filed a motion for a new trial, citing the 20 tweets that one juror posted during the trial.

No Libel in 140 Characters?

For a while now, I've been on the look-out for the first American defamation trial stemming from Twitter. And while some cases have been contenders, there hasn't been such a case that's gone to trial yet.

But now, an article in the new Berkeley Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law by attorney William L. Charron questions whether tweets can be the basis for a defamation claim at all.

Me and MSNBC.com

I was quoted last week in the following msnbc.com article:

Students' racist tweets about Boston hockey game put schools in a bind

Twitter Overruled in Supreme Court

One of the persistent issues that I've written about on this blog is the use of Twitter in the courtroom: both authorized use by journalists and unauthorized use by jurors and other trial participants. This is a growing issue that an increasing number of trial and appellate courts across the country are facing.