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Is a Twitter Tweet from a Courtroom "Broadcasting" forbidden by Federal Court Rules? and other new special problems for courts through new technology

By Andis Kaulins

Cellphones, modern camera technology, Twitter, Facebook and social media "broadcasting" are keeping the legal system on its toes. Grant Schulte at USA TODAY in 'Special problems' force courts to confront cellphone issues - USATODAY.com writes inter alia that:

"Aside from the noisy interruption of musical ringtones, the technology poses new challenges for judges, who must maintain courtroom décor and consider other legal issues in a world where Facebook, Twitter and cameras are now at the fingertips of many cellphone users.

A federal judge in Georgia in November banned a local newspaper reporter from posting information on Twitter from a handheld electronic device, after the man on trial objected. U.S. District Judge Clay Land ruled that the onlinemicroblogging service qualifies as 'broadcasting,' which is banned under federal court rules."

Read the full article here.

Hat tip to a tweet from the Superior Court of Fulton County Georgia:

"RT @USATODAY 'Special problems' force courts to confront cellphone issues http://usat.me?37148400 7:50 PM Jan 4th from web"

Full post as published by LawPundit on January 11, 2010 (boomark / email).