Florida Ethics Panel Says Lawyers And Judges Can't Be "Friends"

I ran across an interesting bit of news that I want to share with our readers.  The Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee has ruled that judges and lawyers should not be "friends" on Facebook.  This panel issued it's ruling on November 17 and warned that online "friendships" could create the impression that a lawyers "friendship" with a judge could create the impression that the lawyer may be able to influence the judges decision in a case.  However, the panel did go on to state that a judge can post comments on another judges site and that during an election, a judges website can have "fans" that includes lawyers.  It should be noted that the decision did not single out Facebook, so it would apply to other social networking sites as well.  Even though this is just a recommendation and the final decision will be made by the Florida Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court has usually followed the recommendations of the Florida Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee.

It will be interesting to see if this has any national implications.

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