But Including “OMG/LOL” In Rulings Is Frowned Upon

The Ohio Supreme Courtissued an advisory opinion on December 8 to help Ohio’s judges determine what is and is not permitted when it comes to using social networking sites. The big news, I guess, is that it not improper, in and of itself, for a judge to “friend” a lawyer, even if that lawyer appears before the judge. This differs from a Florida Supreme Court opinion that frowned upon even that innocuous connection. The Ohio rule is more realistic about the term “friend” as used on Facebook. Not everyone who is a Facebook “friend” is a friend in the more traditional sense (and I am not going to name names here). The Ohio rule avoids an ill advised blanket rule, and rather focuses on common sense guidelines that prevent abuse, but not use. Given that Ohio judges are elected, it would be a bit short sighted to deny these folks the ability to take advantage of the networking that social media affords. I think our Supreme Court got this one right.