New Jersey Judiciary Now Tweeting

Sep 7th, 2009 | By Rex Gradeless | Category: Blogging, Facebook, Featured, Lead Article, Practice Management, Social Media, Twitter, Web 2.0, YouTube

New Jersey Social Media:

In a recent press release, the New Jersey Judiciary announced that new social media features would be used on their website to keep the community, including lawyers, informed.

The New Jersey Judiciary is using social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube while keeping lawyers updated with RSS Feeds, text messages, and the traditional online press releases. These updates will include anything from breaking court news, court closings, foreclosure information, and lawyer volunteer opportunities.

Because of the immediacy that sharing information using social media provides, the NJ judiciary determined this would be a good way to get the information to the community. What do you think? Do you know of other judiciaries using social media to update the community? Add your comments below.

New Jersey Ethics:

Some legal professionals are hesitant about using social media technologies because they do not know whether using them would violate their state’s ethical rules of professional conduct. State bar associations ultimately promulgate and enforce the ethical rules of professional conduct for their lawyers. Penalties for violating a state bar association rule can include anything from fines to losing your law license. Some feel that using social media may violate rules associated with advertising or solicitation. (Not an exhaustive list of potential rule violations.)

Does the state judiciary, in this case, using Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube imply that their lawyers are free to do the same? With little to no court rulings on this stuff, no one wants to be the “test case”. What do you think? Are New Jersey lawyers free to use the same social media tools their judiciary now uses? Anyone from New Jersey know the answers to these questions?

You can find New Jersey’s social media sites here:

Here is the press release:

For immediate release: Aug. 18, 2009
For further information:
Winnie Comfort or Tammy Kendig
609-292-9580

Judiciary Uses Social Media to Keep Court Users Informed

SMS text messages. RSS feeds. Facebook. YouTube.

The Judiciary is taking advantage of the latest media developments to keep the public informed of the latest court developments. Now, lawyers, litigants, law enforcement, state agencies, reporters and others can obtain up-to-the-minute court news and information on their cell phones as well as online.

“Our court users rely heavily on social media to stay informed and connected. We are responding to their expectations for timely information that maximizes the convenience of the Internet and of cell phones and other devices,” said Judge Glenn A. Grant, acting administrative director of the courts.

Court users can sign up for breaking news alerts via short message service (SMS) text alerts on their cell phones. Users sign up for the service through a link on the Judiciary home page, njcourts.com. The text messages will announce unscheduled court closings and other high priority information so that users who are not in the office or at home in front of their computers will receive the information in real time on their cell phones. The Judiciary also has begun using Twitter to send short “tweets” about breaking court news. To sign up for either of these options, users can click on the SMS or Twitter links on the Judiciary home page. Those links will take them to the appropriate Web sites to sign up for those services.

Users also can add one of three Judiciary RSS feeds to their home pages. Users can choose to receive the news release feed, notices to the bar, or Supreme and Appellate Court opinions, or all three options, by clicking on the RSS icon on the Judiciary home page. The site will link directly to a sign-up page that will allow users to have the feeds sent to their personal start page on Google, Yahoo or another Web-based personal site. As soon as a new item is posted to the Judiciary Web site in one of those categories, the information will be available immediately on the personal start page.

Facebook users can join the group “New Jersey Courts” to see press releases, court information and photos of court events. The Judiciary’s Facebook page is updated daily and the links can be shared with others who are not currently members of the group.

Finally, the Judiciary has begun posting videos on YouTube for court users to learn more about the courts. Topics covered by the videos include the Judiciary’s mortgage foreclosure mediation program and the Veteran’s Assistance Project. Future videos will address help available for self-represented litigants and volunteer opportunities. To find video clips about the New Jersey courts, go to youtube.com/njcourts.

For more information on how to sign up for any of the new services, call 609-292-9580.