SoCiaL media oN appeaL
Appellate Practice Section Chairs : Heather Fesnak - Akerman LLP & Tom Seider - Brannock & Humphries
Social media is now a key tool for government and related organizations to communicate with the public they serve , but it presents special challenges for courts . Courts must ensure public records compliance , First Amendment protections , and importantly , impartiality ( both in appearance and in fact ).
The Florida State Courts System is widely recognized for its public engagement , which can be traced back to the tenure of Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles T . Wells . In the aftermath of Bush v . Gore , a series of anthrax scares at government buildings , and the September 11 , 2001 terrorist attacks , Justice Wells established a commission to examine how Florida courts communicate with the public and deal with crisis . 1 The commission recommended creating a statewide group of court communication professionals . 2 With funding from the Florida Bar Foundation , the Florida Court Public Information Officers ( FCPIO ) organization was created . 3 Earlier this year , the FCPIO recognized Justice Wells with an award for his leadership in developing Florida courts ’ public media strategies .
Jo Haynes , Marshal at the Second District Court of Appeal , attributes current court media operations to Justice Wells and the
court public information professionals throughout the state . “ For those of us who also serve in many other roles , the assistance of the Florida Supreme Court ’ s public information office that Chief Justice Wells created has been invaluable . Their initial work made it easy for us to follow .”
Ms . Haynes explains that the Second DCA ’ s social media presence began in limited fashion after realizing that Facebook had generated an incorrect “ location ” for the Second DCA . The court initially started its own page with the correct location to correct the misinformation . Only recently has the court begun actively posting through its “ verified ” Facebook page .
Facebook is reserved for “ softer ” court news . Recent posts include Judge Atkinson ’ s first oral argument panel and the court ’ s “ traveling ” oral arguments held in Ft . Myers and Dade City . Practitioners often tag themselves on Facebook at the court when they appear for oral argument .
The Second DCA largely uses Twitter for more time-sensitive messages . In 2017 , its Twitter feed was instrumental in notifying the public about outages and court
© Can Stock Photo / HypnoCreative
“ in this age of e-everything , fast delivery of ( time-sensitive ) news is critical for managing work and deadlines .” — Second district Clerk mary Beth kuenzel
closures during hurricanes . Second DCA Clerk Mary Beth Kuenzel explains , “ Twitter allows us to instantly communicate with our practitioners about problems with court technology . In this age of e-everything , fast delivery of such news is critical for managing work and deadlines .” The court also tweets about the issuance of written opinions .
One challenge is moderating the public ’ s contributions to the court ’ s social media pages . Individuals may not create a new post on the court ’ s page , but anyone can comment on a post . The Second DCA ’ s Facebook page includes an “ Impressum ” that sets forth the rules of use and conduct , as well as the consequences when those rules are broken . 4
But these rules are necessarily in flux . Recently , the Southern District of New York ruled that a public official — specifically , the President of the United States — does not have absolute discretion to “ block ” a person on Twitter , and can violate the First Amendment by doing so . This ruling , and those that will undoubtedly follow , will affect how government organizations like courts moderate their social media pages . 5
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