Constitutional Law

Federal Judge: Tweet Away

In case you are unable to make the commute to Wichita, you can now keep up with an ongoing criminal trial there through one reporter's updates on Twitter.

Judge J. Thomas Marten has given the go-ahead to reporter Ron Sylvester's use of Twitter to send live updates from the U.S. District Court of Kansas to those following Sylvester through the micro-blogging service. The Wichita Eagle's Sylvester has reported on other trials by Twitter, but the current racketeering trial of six alleged Crips gang members is his first in federal court.

In response to defense attorneys' concerns that jurors might follow Sylvester's updates, Judge Marten replied that jurors are always told to avoid online reports. 'You either trust your jurors to live with the admonishment, or you don't,' he said. One observer sees this as highlighting 'the growing tendency of federal trial courts to be more open and transparent even in criminal cases.'

For the uninitiated, Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that permits users to send updates to followers or 'tweeps' in real-time. Those updates or 'tweets' are limited to 140 words each and can be sent through standard internet connections or by phones bearing a Twitter-ready application.

You can follow Sylvester's updates on Twitter here. You can also keep up on ACS's tweets at www.twitter.com/acslaw.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on March 06, 2009 (boomark / email).