Judges Can't "Friend" Lawyers in Florida

Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that Florida's Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee has found in a recent opinion that judges and lawyers can no longer be Facebook friends. The committee says that when judges 'friend' lawyers who may appear before them, it creates the appearance of a conflict of interest, since it 'reasonably conveys to others the impression that these lawyer "friends" are in a special position to influence the judge.' Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics expert at New York University, says the Florida rule goes too far. 'In my view, they are being hypersensitive because in the case of a truly close friendship between a judge and a lawyer involved in a case, the other side can simply seek to disqualify the judge. Judges do not "drop out of society when they become judges," Gillers says. "The people who were their friends before they went on the bench remained their friends, and many of them were lawyers." Still, legal sycophants can take heart: lawyers can declare themselves Facebook "fans" of judges, the committee says, "as long as the judge or committee controlling the site cannot accept or reject the lawyer's listing of himself or herself on the site."'"

The Book

[MikeMacK]

Gives new meaning to the term "throwing the book" at you...

Really?

[Khris]

When are we going to realize that the further we push issues like this, the more damage we're doing to our society. Pretty soon it's going to be illegal to look at someone if they're having a bad hair day assuming it's Thursday of the 5th month with a full moon happening within 3 days.

Florida Lawyer Jack Thompson is Lonely.

[jameskojiro]

Is lonely because no one wants to friend him in Facebook.

Re:It's common sense

[Again]

[...]You can't bubble wrap the entire world! [...]

Bubble wrap... the entire world... *stares into distance* That would be awesome!!!

Re:Seems like the simpler resolution is

[SOdhner]

Man, if that were how it worked I know a few lawyers who would immediately send out friend requests to certain judges. "Wait, I never have to deal with _____ again? SCORE!"

Re:what????

[idontgno]

because these people are most like friends outside of facebook.

NO!

NO WAI!

There's no such thing as friends outside of Facebook! In fact, there's no such thing as PEOPLE outside of Facebook. Those people out there walking around? Facebookers I haven't friended. Yet.

Re:The Book

[interkin3tic]

Judge Roberts and Attorney Smith are no longer friends, they've changed their relationship to "It's complicated. (See Florida ethics board 'Opinion Number: 2009-20' for futher clarification)"

Re:I agree

[zippthorne]

Yeah, it's important that we avoid the appearance of impropriety. Especially if actual impropriety is occurring.

Easy solution

[ascari]

Use MySpace!

Re:oblig. Godwin

[Shakrai]

Yeah, and if Hitler were alive and on Facebook today

If Hitler was alive and on the internet we'd know how WW2 would have gone [4guysfromviewpoint.com]....

Re:Since when is THAT a crime?

[grantsellis]

I'm sorry, but you lost me at, "If Hollywood has taught me anything about the Judiciary system," Because if Hollywood has taught me anything about the judicial system, it's that attorneys in criminal courts are people who are better looking than people you meet in real life, crime scene videos are infinitely zoomable so you can see the killer's microscopic tattoos, that judges like you to give a mini-criminal procedure lecture every time you make an objection, and that juries are actually impressed by grandstanding.