Social Media is Becoming a Significant Influence Within the Court System, Says Punch

LONDON, December 1, 2010 - Access to social media channels is becoming influential within the court
system, says SEO agency (www.punchcomms.com/seo-agency.html) Punch
Communications. With social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube,
attorneys, judges, and juries alike have information available, which has the
potential to sway decisions and affect sentences or even a mistrial.

There has been an ongoing debate within the legal system whether or not
to allow Tweeting from the courtroom. Attorneys have been known to be against
live-blogging and Tweeting as they feel it can influence witnesses and
jurors, obstructing a fair trial. Some judges ask that jurors stop using the
internet during trials as they could be manipulated by the information.
Reporters argue that they are simply reporting the information that would
appear in a newspaper, the information is just delivered faster.

High profile court cases generally have media and television cameras
banned from the courtroom to prevent any influencing of the public and jury.
With the increase of smartphone users, information is readily available at
the touch of a button. News stories used to appear on regularly scheduled
news programs or the evening newspaper but now information is constantly
streamed, not only by journalists and newscasters, but also by the general
public through blogs and social media channels with a lot of the global
population turning to the internet as a source of up to the second news.

Keredy Stott, senior account manager at social media agency
(www.punchcomms.com/social-media-agency.html) Punch Communications
said, "It's important to monitor what information is included on social
networking sites whilst in court. Attorneys have used social media profiles
to research cases and even potential jurors. As the internet is public
record, anything posted on social networks can be cited in court cases. A
seemingly innocent video on YouTube, a photo posted on Facebook or a Tweet
could be used to portray someone in a negative light if taken out of
context."

Punch Communications are a PR, Search and Social Media Agency with
offices in the East Midlands and London. For more information on social
media, or SEO PR (www.punchcomms.com/seo-pr.html), go to
www.punchcomms.com.

    Contact:
    Pete Goold
    info@punchcomms.com
    +44(0)1858-411-600

Contact: Pete Goold, info at punchcomms.com, +44(0)1858-411-600