Defense in murder case can obtain private social media posts

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The California Supreme Court has ruled that the defense in a gang-related murder trial can obtain private postings from social media companies.

The court’s decision Wednesday upheld a ruling by the judge overseeing the San Francisco trial and noted that the judge’s findings strongly justify access in this case, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

It’s the first time such an order has been enforced in a California court, the Times said.

Last year, the California Supreme Court ruled that the defense in the gang case could have social media postings that were public at the time of the killings, but that ruling did not deal with private postings.

Under the latest ruling, the judge will review any postings obtained from the companies and decide which ones will be given to the defense.

The decision is not binding on other courts, but it is expected to be cited by defense attorneys seeking private posts in other cases.

For years, social media companies have opposed efforts by criminal defense attorneys to access accounts, arguing that federal privacy law — the Stored Communications Act — bars cooperation except in limited circumstances.

In the past, only law enforcement has been able to force social media companies to provide private postings

The criminal case is the prosecution of a killing and attempted killing involving a June 2013 drive-by shooting in San Francisco.

A 14-year-old boy who participated in the shooting told police that beforehand he had interacted with the slain victim, who had “tagged” him on Instagram in a video that included guns.

The boy said he shot that victim six times and asserted that the victim “would have done the same thing to us.”

The boy was tried in juvenile court and found to be responsible for the murder of Jaquan Rice Jr. and attempted murder of Rice’s girlfriend, who was a minor. The boy was declared a ward of the court, and he was committed for a term of 83 years, four months to life.

Two other defendants, Derrick Hunter and Lee Sullivan, were separately indicted on murder, attempted murder and other charges.