Delaware Employment Law Blog

Twitter is everywhere! This morning, on Good Morning America, one of the hosts said that there were 100,000 people following the show on Twitter--at that moment!  Yesterday, they answered questions submitted via Twitter during the live section of the program. 

But the newsroom isn't the only place experiencing serious changes as a result of the explosive popularity of microblogging.  The courtroom has had its own share of the Twitter craze. 

• Earlier in the week, one of Pennsylvania's biggest political corruption trials was interrupted temporarily when lawyers for the defendant, former State Senator Vince Fumo, learned that a juror had been tweeting and called for a mistrial. 
• In an Arkansas case, lawyers for a building products company are asking the court to overturn a $12.6 million judgment after learning that a juror tweeted during the trial.  There, the juror is accused of posting this message via cell phone: "I just gave away TWELVE MILLION DOLLARS of somebody else's money." 
• And, last week, a Florida judge declared a mistrial after no less than 9 jurors admitted to have researched the case online.

And the tweeting isn't limited to reporters at a newsdesk. They've taken the show on the road--tweeting right from the heart of the action--in the courtroom.

• For example, a federal judge in Kansas recently granted the request of a reporter to send Twitter posts from the courtroom during a trial. 
• Last month, a Colorado judge approved a similar request, permitting observers to tweet and blog live from the courtroom. 
• Reporters in Orange County reported on the corruption trial of a local Sheriff via Twitter in December.
• And, in Washington, a reporter tweeted the closing arguments of a sentencing trial--in a capital murder case.

What about the lawyers?  Oh, we're tossing around the idea, too.  Kevin O'Keefe posted on ways that lawyers can (and should, according to O'Keefe), using Twitter as a marketing tool almost a year ago. 

Does the old adage, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" apply when it comes to Twitter and the law?