Shooting yourself in the foot on Facebook

Most everyone knows that people involved in child custody fights should take great care and pay attention to what they post on social internet sites, like Facebook.

Excuse the cliche, but some litigants are their own worst enemy. I just went to court with a Facebook photo of a father, currently on bail for DUI, who was posing for pictures with a beer and his young child. It was mother who gave me the photo, lifted off his Facebook pages. I had another custody case not long ago where I handed the judge photos the father posted of himself at a nightclub, with a drink in one hand and the breast of a woman in the other.

Judges pretty much allow most any sort of internet posting to be submitted as evidence. A photo displayed or a comment posted on an individual's own profile or social networking page is arguably an admission by that individual. Self-published information usually carries more weight than emails or phone text mesages, whose authenticity can sometimes be challenegd.

I have never seen a judge accept the argument that these Facebook-partying litigants have any privacy rights, the reason being that no one is entitled to privacy once they post on the worldwide web. And last month one judge in Connecticut went so far as to order a divorcing couple to exchange passwords to their Facebook and dating websites to allow lawyers to dig up evidence on their ability to care for their children.

In addition to being discreet on the internet, anyone embarking on a custody battle should think about "de-friending" everyone, or at least prevent access to their social networking sites by anyone who may post harmful information or retrieve offensive material for the other parent's benefit.