Facebook status used as legal alibi
After a legal tussle, a New York man used his Facebook status message as an alibi to prove his innocence in a robbery case. And he succeeded
"U. G. L. Y, you ain't got no alibi," sang Daphne and Celeste in one of the worst songs ever released in the whole of history. But for one Rodney Bradford, the song wasn't at all relevant -- he had an alibi, to prove he wasn't a criminal: his Facebook status.
In a fascinating story published by the New York Times, it's reported that Mr Bradford was arrested one morning on suspicion of involvement in a robbery the previous day. His lawyer argued his innocence, on account of him being in his parents' house on Nassau Street in Brooklyn at the time of the robbery, updating his Facebook profile.
Facebook, after being subpoenaed for evidence to back up this claim, released details of the IP address of the computer used to access Mr Bradford's account. And where was that computer? Nassau Street, Brooklyn, New York. With that, the charges were dropped and Mr Bradford's good name was upheld.
It's not the first time Facebook has been used as a legal conduit in some form, though. Late last year an Australian lawyer, with the consent of Australia's supreme court, sent an official notice of eviction via the site to alleged non-paying tenants. Previous methods of contact had failed, so the court approved the use of Facebook as a last resort.
Then, just this year, a woman potentially faced almost a month in prison for violating a restraining order taken out against her, after she 'poked' the woman who took out the order.
Next week: bail refusal issued via Twitter.