Justice - Justiz - Giustizia

Social Media and the Electronic «New World» of Judges

  • Autor/Autorin: Judith Gibson
  • Beitragsarten: Reprint
  • Zitiervorschlag: Judith Gibson, Social Media and the Electronic «New World» of Judges, in: «Justice - Justiz - Giustizia» 2016/2
Courts in Australia not only have social media policies to control social media use in the courtroom, but are starting to use social media to publish judgments and court-related information. How will the interactive nature of social media affect the discourse between the court and litigants? Will social media require courts to take court «user» satisfaction into account in the provision of justice, and how is the dissemination of judgments on social media affecting public perceptions of traditional rules such as the doctrine of precedent? This discussion paper examines the future of courts in a social media world where the «like» button, and not just the legislature or stare decisis, may play an increasingly powerful role in shaping both the content of the law and the way in which courts administer justice.

Table of contents

  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Social Media Place in the Technological Revolution
  • 3. Current Use of Social Media by Australian Courts and Judges
  • 4. Social Media’s Impact on the Court System
  • 4.1. Changes to Judgment-Writing – Precedent, Form and Style
  • Precedent and the Common Law in the Age of Social Media
  • 4.2. Social Media, Court Policy and Case Management
  • A Court Social Media Compliance and Security Program
  • E-courts, e-Filing, e-Case Management and e-Appearances
  • 5. Changes to Research Methods and to Court Libraries
  • 6. Social Media and the Trial Process
  • 6.1. Evidence Issues
  • Managing ESI and Social Media in Discovery
  • Destruction of social media evidence
  • Tender of Social Media Records
  • 6.2. Social Media and Criminal Offences
  • The Criminal Trials of the Future
  • 7. Conclusions