I wrote a blog a few months ago about a man who was using a blog to disparage his wife which sparked a Free Speech debate – and a mess in his custody litigation. My blog post can be found here:
https://pafamilylaw.foxrothschild.com/2011/08/articles/custody/free-speech/index.html
Social media has become a big factor in our family law cases. A recent article discussed Facebook and how “posts” to Facebook can affect family law cases (i.e. a person claims they do not have money for support, but they post pictures of their European vacation on Facebook or when a parent bad mouths the other parent in a “status update.”). The article can be found here: http://www.law.com/jsp/pa/PubArticlePA.jsp?id=1202540333140&Facebook_Has_Become_a_Factor_for_Pa_Family_Law_Cases&slreturn=1
Many attorneys counsel their clients to shut down their Facebook pages during their case. Is this going to far? Is it necessary? Unfortunately, it probably is necessary. Each party is under such a microscope during a family law case that they cannot afford to have anything on the web or Facebook that would cast them in a negative light. Even the most innocent post or picture can be misinterpreted, and it is better to avoid the issue altogether than to deal with the fall-out.
We are all entitled to “free speech,” but the issue becomes how to best use it during family court litigation.