Liko81
Founder's Club Member
imported post
Just thought I'd throw this out. Be careful what you say or show to the ether that is the Internet; it has come back to bite some people in court.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25738225/
This is especially important for people on these types of forums, who may someday be forced to defend their actions in court. Most of us use similar usernames across multiple forums; an ADA can find this stuff just as easily as anyone else, and link it to you. Therefore, think VERY carefully before posting something disparaging about the police, the poor, the homeless, criminals, etc. in the general case. It's not going to sound goodif read in court. Likewise, a "bring it on" post regarding your protections under Castle Doctrine can be used by the DA to argue that you welcomed the opportunity to shoot an intruder, which lends credence to an allegation that you provoked the intruder and thus negates justification.
Lastly, legal advice given here should ALWAYS be prefaced or ended with "IANAL" if you are indeed not a lawyer. If a member of the particular State's bar gives advice, they know how to cover themselves. Everyone else, as seemingly knowledgeable members, might give advice in good faith that turns out to be bad. If a reasonable person would read your post and conclude that the information in it was "legal advice", you can be held liable and even found guilty of criminal charges for practicing law without a license.
This forum's members areprobably the mostoutspoken of any I frequent; debates about talking to police, being detained by same, etc. etc. often generate online shouting matches and a lot of conclusions based on incomplete pictures of state and Federal laws, Constitutions, natural rights, etc, and people forget that their little corner of the Web is very public. I'm just giving people on the forums I frequent fair warning that the potential danger of being held to the word of your online persona is indeed very real.
Just thought I'd throw this out. Be careful what you say or show to the ether that is the Internet; it has come back to bite some people in court.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25738225/
Online hangouts like Facebook and MySpace have offered crime-solving help to detectives and become a resource for employers vetting job applicants. Now the sites are proving fruitful for prosecutors, who have used damaging Internet photos of defendants to cast doubt on their character during sentencing hearings and argue for harsher punishment.
This is especially important for people on these types of forums, who may someday be forced to defend their actions in court. Most of us use similar usernames across multiple forums; an ADA can find this stuff just as easily as anyone else, and link it to you. Therefore, think VERY carefully before posting something disparaging about the police, the poor, the homeless, criminals, etc. in the general case. It's not going to sound goodif read in court. Likewise, a "bring it on" post regarding your protections under Castle Doctrine can be used by the DA to argue that you welcomed the opportunity to shoot an intruder, which lends credence to an allegation that you provoked the intruder and thus negates justification.
Lastly, legal advice given here should ALWAYS be prefaced or ended with "IANAL" if you are indeed not a lawyer. If a member of the particular State's bar gives advice, they know how to cover themselves. Everyone else, as seemingly knowledgeable members, might give advice in good faith that turns out to be bad. If a reasonable person would read your post and conclude that the information in it was "legal advice", you can be held liable and even found guilty of criminal charges for practicing law without a license.
This forum's members areprobably the mostoutspoken of any I frequent; debates about talking to police, being detained by same, etc. etc. often generate online shouting matches and a lot of conclusions based on incomplete pictures of state and Federal laws, Constitutions, natural rights, etc, and people forget that their little corner of the Web is very public. I'm just giving people on the forums I frequent fair warning that the potential danger of being held to the word of your online persona is indeed very real.