Face-Off on Facebook: Judges and Lawyers as Social Media 'Friends' in a Post-Herssein World

Abstract

Should a judge be disqualified from a case based solely on a Facebook friendship with one of the attorneys?

The Florida Supreme Court recently answered the question in the negative in Law Offices of Herssein & Herssein, P.A. v. United Servs. Auto. Ass’n, Case No. SC17-1848, 2018 Fla. LEXIS 2209 (Fla. Nov. 15, 2018), when it held that “an allegation that a trial judge is a Facebook ‘friend’ with an attorney appearing before the judge, standing alone, is not a legally sufficient basis for disqualification.”

The decision brings Florida in line with the majority view in other states that “have adopted an attitude of, ‘it’s fine for judges to be on social media, but proceed with caution." However, the opinion’s implications are multifaceted for Florida judges and the lawyers who appear before them.

Keywords: judges, social media, judicial canons, appearance of impropriety, disqualification