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Judge Orders Twitter To Hand Over Occupy Protester's Tweets
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jul 2, 2012
Modified Jul 2, 2012
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Shutterstock / Roger Coster Morera
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jul 2, 2012
Modified Jul 2, 2012
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Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Matthew Sciarrino has ordered Twitter to turn over the tweets of Occupy Wall Street protester Malcolm Harris. In May, Twitter rose to Harris' defense, filing a motion to prevent a subpoena from Manhattan DA's office for Harris' tweets. But in his opinion Judge Sciarrino writes, "If you post a tweet, just like if you scream it out the window, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy," and points to the fact that every public tweet will be archived in the Library of Congress. However, Sciarrino does note that to obtain "a private direct message" authorities would need "a warrant based on probable cause."
The ruling does note that if the Manhattan DA's office wishes to obtain one of Harris' tweets that is less than 180 days old, they must obtain a search warrant. Judge Sciarrino recently convicted eight Occupy protesters of trespassing on the privately-owned, public space, Duarte Square during a demonstration in December, sentencing protester Mark Adams to 45 days in jail, 15 more than was recommended by the prosecution. He was also reprimanded in 2009 for "oversharing" activities on Facebook.
Tagged
judge matthew sciarrino
occupy wall street
privacy
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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