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Social media as evidence
Professor Colin Miller has published two timely and important essays related to the introduction of social media evidence for its truth.
Contents May Have Shifted: Disentangling the Best Evidence Rule from the Rule Against Hearsay, 71 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. Online 180 (2014). Here is the abstract:
The rule against hearsay covers a statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted but does not cover a statement offered for another purpose. Meanwhile, the Best Evidence Rule states that a party seeking to prove the content of a writing, recording, or photograph must produce the original or account for its nonproduction. Does this mean that the Rule is inapplicable when a party seeks to prove something other than the truth of the matter asserted in a writing, recording or photograph? Most courts have answered this question in the affirmative. This essay argues these courts are wrong.
The Social Medium: Why the Authentication Bar Should Be Raised For Social Media Evidence, Temple Law Review Online (2014) (with Charles White). Here is the abstract:
Professor Miller uses recent examples of “social media evidence” to argue that, given the current technological and social climate, a more stringent authentication standard must be developed and used.