When are friends not really your friends? According to a Florida federal appeals court, when your friendship exists on Facebook.
On Wednesday, an appeals court delivered the verdict on a Facebook-related legal question: Whether Miami-Dade Judge Beatrice Butchko needed to recuse herself from a case because one of the attorneys involved in her court case is a Facebook “friend.”
The answer? No.
Third District Court of Appeals Judge Thomas Logue produced a 10-page opinion behind the unanimous ruling.
Court finding suggest that Facebook data mining and algorithms lead to people accepting friend requests from people they barely know, or are acquainted with purely from professional circles.
So, for now, the social-media savvy judges in Miami can breathe a little easier. But the legal battle isn't necessarily over.
An appeals court in Palm Beach ruled to contrary two years prior, meaning the Florida Supreme Court could have to decide the true legal meaning of social-media friendship.