2023 - Volume 2 - Summer - Flipbook - Page 1
ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS TRIAL LAWYERS
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Volume XXV No. 2
Report
ORANGE COUNTY
Summer 2023
Q&A with the Honorable Maria D. Hernandez
Social Media Evidence: What You Need to Know
By Dave Sugden
Editorial Note: Presiding Judge Maria D.
Hernandez is a judge of the Superior Court of
Orange County in California. She assumed
office in 2009. She spent nine years with the
county’s juvenile court, serving as the presiding judge from 2014 to 2018. She also created
and presided over a dedicated court addressing commercially sexually exploited children
and cochaired a committee addressing boys in
the child welfare system. She recently
launched a Young Adult Court, which addresses the special needs of emerging adults
charged with felonies in the criminal justice
system. Judge Hernandez has also served the Judicial Council’s Advisory Committee on Providing Access and Fairness, as well as the
Keeping Kids in School and Out of Court Initiative.
Is social media good or bad? Is it
the best way to communicate or the
worst? It is, of course, neither and
both. Never before have noncelebrities or non-journalists been
able to reach millions and display
what would otherwise be undiscovered talent. And yet we also
find material on social media that falls
short of most bathroom stall graffiti standards. Consuming social media is like ordering the seafood tower at a
new restaurant. If that first bite of shrimp is warm,
leave the plate alone and focus on the dinner rolls.
By Yanlin Cecilia Chen
Q: What drew you to the legal profession?
A: It all started with my father. He was and still is
the hero of my life. My father came to the U.S. as a
child of an immigrant looking for a better life. As
Armenian immigrants, they were treated poorly. Despite only having a high school education, he fought
for justice and made sure everyone had a voice, regardless of their race or color. His hard work and
work ethic left a lasting impression on me from a
young age.
Regardless of its merit, social media is here to stay
and disputes over admissibility or exclusion are commonplace in today's trials. To best handle evidentiary questions about social media, litigators must understand the relevant evidentiary rules and their application.
What Social Media Evidence?
Starting with the obvious, information on social media certainly is evidence. In California, evidence is
-Continued on page 4- comprehensively defined to include "testimony, writings, material objects, or other things presented to the
- IN THIS ISSUE senses that are offered to prove the existence or nonexQ&A with the Honorable Maria D. Hernandez
istence of a fact." Cal. Evid. Code § 140. "Writing" is
by Yanlin Cecilia Chen ............................................. Pg. 1
broadly defined to include "every other means of reSocial Media Evidence: What You Need to Know
cording upon any tangible thing, any form of communiby Dave Sugden .......................................................... Pg. 1
cation or representation, including ... any record thereby
President’s Message by William C. O’Neill............... Pg. 2
created, regardless of the manner in which the record
Friend or Foe—Is Artificial Intelligence Worth
has been stored." The Federal Rules of Evidence likethe Risk to Your Business? by Connor L. Kridle
wise define "writing," "recording," and "photograph" in
and Robert Matsuishi .................................................. Pg. 3
an expansive way. Bottom line: Anything on social meA New Era of Privacy Enforcement Has Begun
dia—whether it's a 140-character tweet or a wordless
In California by Travis Brennan and Lila Reiner ... Pg. 3
Tik-Tok video—is evidence as defined in California
Thank You to Our Report Sponsor:
and federal law.
Signature Resolution ................................................... Pg. 12
-Continued on page 5-
