Grad Fellow
Law Career Services
“Watch what you post online.” We are advised of this time and time again because employers and colleagues refer to social media to learn about who we are professionally (remember the Name Brand blog). Well, a recent news story reminds us of how true this is.According to The Detroit News, a prosecutor posted her opinion on Facebook about how to handle the recent Baltimore protests. She opined that the protestors should be shot. Although the prosecutor only left the post up for a very short time, her colleague, who is a criminal defense attorney, took a screen shot of her message and posted it on his wall. Thereafter, the media discovered the content and reported it to the public at large. As a result, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office informed the public that the prosecutor would resign.
This is a good reminder that we need to be cognizant of the content that we place on our social media forums, especially since the content naturally becomes a part of our brand. It can be tempting to vent about work, but resist the temptation. In addition, we often have our own opinions concerning political strife, but choose your words wisely when posting these opinions on the web. Once something is posted, it potentially lasts forever. Like in this instance, even though the prosecutor deleted her post rather quickly, her message remains permanent.
Now, there may be law students or attorneys out there wondering, “What about freedom of speech?” Although, First Amendment rights are very strong, they only limit government action; and are therefore, inapplicable to the private sector. Even when the government is your employer, First Amendment rights may be limited. Attorneys often agree to limit their speech via employment contracts. Engagement in conduct that is prohibited by contract would amount to a breach of contract, which could then result in termination. Moreover, regardless of contracts, it is well-known that the legal industry places great value on reputation. An action like this could utterly destroy your reputation, and thereby your career, as exemplified by the outcome of the Wayne County prosecutor incident.
Regardless, such an act conflicts with the California Attorney’s Oath. In addition to swearing to support the U.S. and California constitutions, we promised, or will promise, to “strive to conduct [ourselves] at all times with dignity, courtesy, and integrity.” As officers and future officers of the court, we should keep this oath in mind when we engage in activities inside and outside of courtroom. Yes, we are entitled to our own opinions and lives outside of the law, but when we decided to become officers of the court, we chose to stand by the principles of our state and our nation, and statements like the Wayne County prosecutor’s seem to be preempted by these principles.
Click here to read the entire news article.
