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According to MahaloLearnMore.com “In January 2012, Youtube was hitting over 4 billion views a day, more than double the number of daily views they had just 18 months prior. According to its press statistics, YouTube receives approximately 800 million unique visitors each month, with more than 4 billion hours of video watched monthly. In terms of social media, Facebook users watch 500 years of YouTube videos daily. One of the reasons for Youtube’s popularity is that it makes everyone a filmmaker; anyone at all can create a user account and upload to youtube, and anyone with internet access can watch video content for free, with or without a login.” Singers have gotten their big break, anamials have made us laugh and we can look up how to do almost anything on Youtube. And now Youtube can be used as evidence in criminal charges. Social Media is the newest form of criminal evidence. Information gleaned from Facebook postings and other social media communications have been allowed as evidence, providing a judge believes the information is directly relevant to a case and not a blatant violation of someone’s privacy. Even if you are not knowingly the subject of a criminal investigation you should be aware that your Facebook postings are not private. Obviously whoever you have “friended” is privy to your postings depending on your privacy levels. Any of these people may easily take a screen shot of any posting you make. The same is true for text messages. The textee can take a screen shot of your text message and it is no longer yours to control. Postings on other social media networks such as Twitter are similarly subject to criminal prosecution if the content is deemed threatening or otherwise suspected to be of a criminal nature. Last week USA TODAY reported the following story about Matthew Cordle who confessed to vehicular homicide on You Tube. To see the entire article and view the confession click here. Matthew Cordle, 22, admits getting drunk and driving the wrong way on I-670 near Columbus, crashing into a jeep and killing its driver. “My name is Mathew Cordle and on June 22, 2013, I hit and killed Vincent Canzani,” Cordle says in the video posted Friday. “This video will act as my confession. When i get charged, I will plead guilty and take full responsibility for everything I’ve done to Vincent and his family… I won’t dishoner Vincent’s memory by lying about what happened.” Cordle says in the video that after the crash he spoke with “some high-powered attorneys” who told him that it might be possible to get his blood test thrown out. He said they told him of “about similar cases where the drivers got off. “All I would have to do is lie. I won’t go down that path.”

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Canzani’s ex-wife, Cheryl Oates, told fox6now.comthat Cordle’s remorse appeared genuine and that she was encouraged that he took responsibility for his actions. Still, the mother of two sons said she felt Cordle should spend some time in prison. “It’s gut-wrenching coming from a mother looking at that young boy, and he just doesn’t understand the damage that he did,” she told the website. George Breitmayer III, a Columbus lawyer representing Cordle, told The Columbus Dispatch that he was unaware his client was posting the confession. “This video he released demonstrates his character, bravery and integrity, and I know he fully intends to cooperate with law enforcement and Franklin County prosecutors throughout the course of any future criminal proceedings,” Breitmayer told the Dispatch. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien told the Dispatch he watched Cordle’s video three times. “It’s the most compelling video I think I have seen. He strikes me as remorseful and sincere,” O’Brien said. O’Brien said he will ask grand jurors on Monday to indict Cordle on a charge of aggravated vehicular homicide. The second-degree felony carries a prison sentence of two to eight years. O’Brien told fox6now that the video has not influenced him to recommend a lighter sentence. “We had a case against him based on the evidence as I know it before the video was filmed,” he told the website. Breitmayer said the video was not posted in an effort to gain a shorter prison sentence. On the recording, Cordle says he “can’t bring Mr. Canzani back. I can’t erase what I’ve done,” but says “I beg you, and I say the word beg specifically, I’m begging you, please don’t drink and drive.” John Bacon, USA TODAY When you are in need of a criminal defence attorney, in Bergen County, New Jersey, Aretsky & Aretsky Attorneys at Law are equiped to defend you. They have successfully prevented charges from being filed, negotiated for lesser charges, and obtained acquittals in a wide range of criminal defense matters. From cases involving DUIs, traffic violations and driving while suspended, to cases involving drug offenses, shoplifting, and assaults, their criminal defense attorneys have the skill, experience, and tenacity necessary to secure positive outcomes for their clients. Aretsky & Aretsky Attornenys can be reached at the Ridgewood Office 257 E. Ridgewood Ave., Suite 303 Ridgewood, NJ 07450, Phone: (201) 996-0234 or https://www.aretsky-law.com/.

We’re definitely treading on unchartered territory when it comes to the social networking site Twitter. Last week, we talked abut tweets that could land you in prison. And now we’re back to tell you the news doesn’t get any better when it comes to your tweeting teen.

The truth is that there are so many ways that he or she could get in trouble. First of all, teenagers often lack the maturity to restrain from making inappropriate comments or to think about the long-term consequences of what they’re tweeting. Not to mention that kids as young as seven are increasingly accessing social media.

When it comes to tweeting, parents are most often concerned about cyberbullying, an act which could range from a violation of school rules that warrants suspension or, in extreme cases, is considered a crime and the teen is charged. But there are other ways that young people can get themselves in trouble.

Some tweeting teens in trouble: Last month, a 17-year-old girl who was elected Britain’s first youth police commissioner found herself in the center of controversy after people complained that her tweets were offensive. Paris Brown resisted calls to step down from the one-year, taxpayer-funded post, a move supported by her boss. “I absolutely do not condone the content and language of Paris’ tweets. I suspect that many young people go through a phase during which they make silly, often offensive comments and show off on Facebook and Twitter,” Kent police official Ann Barnes told the media. “I think that if everyone’s future was determined by what they wrote on social networking sites between the ages of 14 and 16, we would live in a very odd world.”

Teen tweeted a bomb threat In Winnetka, Ill., a 16-year-old boy was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after he sent out a Twitter message saying he was going to “bring a bomb to school and blow it up.” Investigators later found out that there was no bomb and the boy’s case was referred to a peer jury. “Words matter whether it’s said or on social media,” said deputy police chief Joe Pellus. “They have to recognize on social media a lot of the content is public and not private.”

Police Say Teen’s Tweet Was a Hoax In New Jersey, 16-year-old Kara Alongi alarmed many in her community when she disappeared after tweeting that there was an intruder in her home and asking followers to call 911. Police later discovered it was a hoax and complained about the 6,000 calls they received during a 12-hour period. But not all news is grim when it comes to teens and Twitter.

Teen’s Twitter Account Gains 500 Followers in Two Hours A story making the rounds on Facebook this weekend was about a 15-year-old girl who created an anonymous Twitter account simply to give out compliments to friends. The girl was concerned about teen suicide after a friend killed himself and decided that the compliments might help teens dealing with low self-esteem. The account attracted nearly 500 followers within two hours.

The lesson for all of us is to teach our teens to use Twitter responsibly.

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Tweeting is protected under the First Amendment freedom of speech rights, but there are exceptions, especially when security is at stake. An Alabama man is awaiting sentencing next month after pleading guilty to threatening to kill President Obama in a series of messages he sent out over the social networking site Twitter that referenced an anti-government militia group. Jarvis Britton wasn’t found to have any connections to the militia group and he apologized for “acting stupid” in sending out the tweets, but he now faces up to five years in prison.

A Twitter joke that went too far

Tweets are limited to just 140 characters, but those 140 characters could land you in a heap of trouble. Consider also the case of Paul Chambers, a British man who tweeted his annoyance that he wouldn’t be able to travel to visit his girlfriend because the airport was shut down due to snow. “Robin Hood Airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get (it) together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!” he tweeted to his 600-plus followers.

Tweet was considered “of a menacing nature”

Although an airport official said he hadn’t taken the threat seriously, the tweet was still considered a threat and a crime. The judge found him guilty of sending a menacing electronic message and levied a $1,500 fine, saying his tweet was “of a menacing nature in the context of the times in which we live.” The charges didn’t stop Chambers from tweeting. Even during the proceedings, he continued to tweet about his case, shocked and angry that what he considered a joke had been taken so seriously. He blamed lower level judges for being unsophisticated about social media. It took him more than two years of legal appeals and cost him two jobs but a higher court judge finally agreed with him and overturned the decision.

Law enforcement are patrolling Twitter

Keep in mind that your tweets are public and law enforcement authorities are out patrolling Twitter-land, as part of their increasing social media strategy. A recent show on National Public Radio featured several police officers discussing how their departments increasingly are relying on social media. One law enforcement official told NPR that they are especially active on Twitter and other social media networks during big conventions or events.

Be careful what you tweet

Ultimately, the British man was successful in convincing a higher court judge that his tweet was harmless, but the lesson seems clear: be careful what you tweet. You wouldn’t want to test the system at a time when our country is at heightened security alert in the aftermath of the Boston bombings. Photo credit: MDGovpics