You Have the Right Not to Post

We tend to warn our kids that posting embarrassing content on social media sites can have bad consequences, like with college admissions officials and potential employers.  Here’s a post from CNN that points out that the consequences may extend to criminal court.  I won’t spoil the post, other than to say it is filled with several anecdotes that will likely make you ask “what were they thinking?”  Like the kid who side swiped two cars, fled the scene, but later apologized on  his Facebook page “to whoever he hit”, noting that he was “drivin drunk.”  I have frequently said there’s no law against being stupid, but this is making me rethink that philosophy.  Here’s the key point. The 5^th Amendment protects you from a compelled confession. But that’s it.  Post an apology for “drivin drunk”, upload a picture of yourself publicly urinating, or send YouTube a video of yourself chugging a beer as you drive down the road, and that’s admissible evidence.