The Oklahoma Bar Journal August 2023

E thics & P rofessional R esponsibility

Judges on Social Media How Judges Navigate Their Use of Social Media

By Judge Thad Balkman

J UDGES, LIKE MOST OTHER PEOPLE, join and use social media platforms to share memories and photos, keep up with the news and generally stay connected with oth ers. Given the solitary nature of the profession, many judges enjoy interacting with oth ers through Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn and other platforms. Social media, particularly Facebook, can also be a useful tool for campaigning. Judges’ use of social media for their campaigns will be addressed further below. I recently conducted a short sur vey of all district court and appellate judges in Oklahoma and found that more than 75% of judges who responded have some type of social media account, where Facebook is the most common and is used by about 70%. 1 Many of those judges who use social media reported feeling it is a way for them to connect with others and combat feelings of isolation.

posts and the occasional “Happy Birthday” greeting. 3

and community events; Facebook Messenger is used for direct communications between friends; and Facebook functions as a news source similar to Twitter, TikTok and other social media platforms. Judges who are most active on social media, like lawyers and most other social media users, derive satisfaction and joy from sharing content like their children’s accomplishments, travel adven tures or maybe even pictures of their gourmet dinners with other users. However, many Oklahoma judges with social media accounts reported they are passive users and rarely, if ever, post any content and refrain from leaving com ments or likes, choosing instead to restrict their use to reading others’

As depicted in the 2011 Academy Award for Best Picture nominee, The Social Network , Facebook has evolved from its early days as an online photo directory used by college students at Harvard University to “judge attractive ness of fellow students” to a social network of just under three billion users, the largest social network in the world. 2 Today, Facebook is commonly used by churches, schools and numerous other groups and organizations to post announcements; Facebook is used by businesses to promote sales and has a marketplace for online sales by businesses and individ uals; Facebook serves as a master calendar to help its users keep track of birthdays, anniversaries

2011 JUDICIAL ETHICS ADVISORY PANEL OPINION The limited social media par ticipation by Oklahoma judges may be attributed to a 2011 opinion by the Oklahoma Judicial Ethics Advisory Panel. The three-member panel unanimously agreed that the use of social media sites by judges is “fraught with peril.” 4 They acknowl edged that a judge may “hold an internet social account, such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn with out violating the Code of Judicial Conduct” but placed restrictions on such use. 5 The panel’s opinion places restrictions on judges’ social media “friends.” Presumably,

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL