Circuit Says Facebook Posts Were Properly Used as Evidence
Introducing a rap video and images of tattoos from a defendant's Facebook page as evidence in a drug-and-murder gang prosecution did not violate the rights of the accused, a federal appeals court held Monday.
May 12, 2015 at 11:21 AM
5 minute read
Introducing a rap video and images of tattoos from a defendant's Facebook page as evidence in a drug-and-murder gang prosecution did not violate the rights of the accused, a federal appeals court held Monday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Southern District Judge William Pauley did not implicate the First Amendment rights of defendant Melvin Colon by giving the song and the images to the jury.
Colon and co-defendants Earl Pierce and Joshua Meregildo were convicted in 2013 of racketeering, conspiracy, murder, narcotics trafficking and firearms offenses for their actions as part of the Courtlandt Avenue Crew, or “CAC,” a violent street gang. The crew operated out of the Melrose Public Housing Developments and the Andrew Jackson Houses in the Melrose section of the Bronx. Colon and Meregildo also belonged to another gang called “God's Favorite Children” or “GFC.”
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