Local Lawyers: Facebook May Be Used Against You in a Court of Law

According to a story in The Legal Intelligencer, instances of Facebook posts being used as evidence in family court are becoming more and more common. The law journal talked to several lawyers about the phenomenon, including some right here in Montgomery County.

"By and large, we haven't had a custody case where something Facebook-related doesn't come up," Jonathan Hoffman, an attorney specializing in family law at in Norristown, told The Legal Intelligencer.

Christian Badali, another lawyer with Weber Gallagher relayed the incident of a husband who created a fake Facebook page for his wife complete with racey photos and fake posts and updates. The ruse was uncovered in court and the wife walked away the victor in court.

In another case, a man posted that since he couldn't punch the mother of his child, he would tape a picture of her to a punching bag. The post was introduced as evidence in the custody battle and the mother won primary custody.

While damning Facebook posts can undo a custody case, they're not always so useful in the divorce proceedings. They can, however, end up in the record.

According to Helen Casale, of Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, Facebook is usually the catalyst that leads to the divorce proceedings. In most cases, a client will want to file for divorce after finding out the spouse was having an affair. More and more often, the affairs originated from a connection made on Facebook, but since Pennsylvania is a no-fault divorce state, the origins of the affair don't matter so much.

"If it provides you with the answer you need as to whether you need to file this divorce complaint," Casale told The Legal Intelligencer, "then I don't need the proof."

They can come into play in some instances though. Andrew D. Taylor, a partner at Weber Gallagher recounted a case where an alimony dispute was put to rest through a little Facebook detective work.

Under Pa. law, a party is not entitled to alimony if he or she is living with a member of the opposite sex. When questioning his client's wife about her living arrangements, she claimed to live alone, but Taylor was able to provide print-outs of Facebook updates and posts bragging about her new relationship status and their recent move to a new home. She then admitted to the relationship and the living situation.

The best advice for managing your social media profile during your court case?

"We tell our clients very, very strongly … get off Facebook," said Taylor.

Read more about the legal ramifications of Facebook here.