If you are like most people, you use social media sites to stay in touch with family, friends, and others. In normal times, this may be harmless. However, the information you post or that is posted about you can hurt your criminal case if you have been charged with DWI in Charlotte. Our Charlotte DWI lawyer explains more below.
How Social Media Can Hurt Your Defense in Your DWI Case
When you are arrested for DWI, the police can search your social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to look for evidence that they can use against you. Even posts by family members and friends can be discovered and lead to incriminating evidence. Here are some ways that your social media activity can be harmful:
- Your posts. Law enforcement can search your posts and shares for any information in relation to your DWI arrest. For example, if you posted a photo of yourself at a bar or a friend’s house consuming alcohol or discussed this in a post prior to your arrest, the police may find it and use it against you in your criminal case.
- Friend and family posts. It is not only your own posts that can cause you problems. If you were tagged in a post or a share of a photo by a friend or family member that shows you consuming alcohol shortly before your arrest, it can be discovered by the police and used as evidence of your intoxication.
- Location information. Even if you do not post anything about drinking alcohol before your arrest, your location information can be discovered by the police if you checked in on a social media site while at a bar or other location. They may use this to establish where you were and obtain additional information by interviewing witnesses who were there when you were.
- Deleted posts. You may be tempted to delete incriminating posts before they are discovered by the police. However, they may be retrieved and may be viewed as an attempt to destroy evidence, which can hurt your defense even more.
