is social media good or bad for criminal trials?

As we saw in the Casey Anthony trial social media started to become a huge part of the whole trial. Photos of Casey Anthony dancing and partying just days after her two year old daughter supposedly went missing were found on social media and then used to help the prosecutors case. This has begun to happen more and more in criminal trials where prosecutors and defense lawyers use social media to help with information for the case. Everything from the defendants social media can be used for evidence, things like photos and the time and place those photos were posted can be used, we saw this in the Casey Anthony case. Not only photos are used but also times the defendant logged in and anyone he or she are friends with are used. This type of information can be extremely valuable for a lawyers case however it also poses a problem with peoples rights. Taking this kind of information has brought up problems in cases before where the government or law enforcement has violated the fourth amendment. Social media can be put into good use for criminal trials, however as long as the information is used in a manner that does not violate anyone's rights or privacy that should be protected by the fourth amendment. As for the question raised about whether or not social media is good for news and media coverage I feel as if its the same kind of situation. Information obtained from social media can be helpful for news coverage as new advancement of the case arises but the information needs to be handled with care. As we saw with the Casey Anthony case there was an abundance of news and media coverage and eventually everyone new about Casey Anthony and the trial. This ended up spiraling out of control due to how much media coverage there was. It got to the point where people were joining or making Facebook pages about the case and Casey Anthony. I believe that social media can be helpful for news coverage but it should be used with care just like it would be used in a criminal trial so no further complications arise.   

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