While social media has become embedded in our society as a way to stay connected with friends, it serves another important purpose: to support the prosecution and defense of criminal cases. Social media is now used as proof of a crime; further, social media has become a vehicle for criminal activity. How should the law respond to the issue of online predators, stalkers, and identity thieves? This book comprehensively examines the complex impacts of social media on the major players in the criminal justice system: private citizens, attorneys, law enforcement officials, and judges. It outlines the many ways social media affects the judicial process, citing numerous example cases that demonstrate the legal challenges; and examines the issue from all sides, including law enforcement’s role, citizens’ privacy issues, and the principles of the Fourth Amendment. The author also shines a critical spotlight on how social media has enabled new types of investigations previously unimagined—some of which present ethical problems.
Features
- Examines the criminal justice system from multiple perspectives in order to give fair attention to the successful uses of social media as well as the abuses
- Comprehensively covers current issues that have broad, long-term repercussions for the criminal justice system
- Provides a convenient overview of all the information related to social media and criminal law in one place
- Cites relevant cases and statutes
