More on Twitter in the Courtroom

Are you sick of us talking about Twitter yet? It seems the possibilities are only just starting to be explored. Lawyers Weekly reporter Luigi Benetton recently interviewed a few of us (including Michael Geist and Darryl Cruz of McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Toronto) for his article “Twitter in the courtroom: a fad, or here to stay?” (June 12, 2009 edition).

Some of the points discussed:

• this area is evolving quickly
• reporters “tweeting” from a trial is akin to reporters taking notes on behalf of the public
• messages on Twitter (or “tweets”) may not adequately characterize the full shape of a trial and the evidence
• tweets may be easily taken out of context
• accuracy of the trial tweets reflect on that reporter’s professional reputation, so there is less likelihood of inaccuracy
• tweeting from a trial promotes openness
• journalists are under pressure to provide updates of the news in real time, and Twitter allows them to do this.

For the full discussion (and context), read the full article.