Are there potential problems with judges using social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and MySpace? After all, these platforms have staggering user numbers (Facebook—some 1.8 billion users worldwide; LinkedIn—some 500 million total users; Twitter—321 million active monthly users; and MySpace—5.5 million in the United States), so there’s plenty of daily communications among lots of folks, and networks of individuals, groups and organizations with shared relationships, interests or activities.

Ostensibly, judges should be able to enjoy the benefits of technological advances just as anyone else. Thus, if Facebook allows users to “friend” other users, to add photo albums, post status updates, share connections with relatives and friends, express interests in books, articles, movies and TV shows and music, then why should judges’ use of Facebook pose complexities? The answer is not easy but it resides within the vaunted professional tasks the judge performs as a dispenser of justice.

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