Week 7 Social Media and The Courts (Your Name)

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1 SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE COURTS Social Media and the Courts Tienda vs. State of Texas Your Name American Public University COMM211 B002 Fall 2022 Dr. Renee L. Cowan 6 November 2022

2 SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE COURTS When it comes to social media, one can argue that anyone can use your identity to create a profile without your consent. Creating a new social media page on platforms like Myspace, Facebook, or Instagram is simple. "Social networking websites such as Myspace and Facebook "typically allow users to customize their own personal web pages (often known as 'profiles'), post photographs or videos, add music, or write a journal or blog that is published to the online world." Tienda v. State , 358 S.W.3d 633, 635 n.3 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012). You can create your own social media profile in just a few simple steps, by using an email, a good username, and maybe even a few pictures, your profile can me active in minutes. This is the argument Ronnie Tienda Jr.'s defense lawyers attempted to use to defend their client. They argued that the court could not authenticate the social media profile of the defendant and that there for not be allowed to be used in the case. Ultimately the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that it was okay for prosecutors to use an accused killer's Myspace page as evidence to persuade a jury to find the Dallas-area street gang member guilty of murder. Ronnie Tienda, Jr., also known as "Smiley Face," was found guilty of killing David Valadez in a shootout on a Dallas interstate and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. While traveling southbound on I-35E towards I-30 in Dallas, David Valadez and his two passengers were the targets of a shootout involving multiple vehicles. The conflict between two rival groups at the nightclub earlier that evening, where members of the defendant's group were "throwing" gang signs and "talking noise" at Valadez and his friends, was believed to have been the cause of the shooting. Valadez's car unexpectedly came under gunfire from a caravan of three or four

3 SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE COURTS vehicles also going southbound on I-35E towards I-30 after Valadez and his passengers had just left one nightclub to go to another "after-hours" club. One of the automobiles in the caravan contained the defendant Ronnie Tienda as a passenger. Valadez was shot twice during the exchange of gunfire, which led him to lose control of his car and hit the concrete center barrier of the highway. Valadez later passed away after being transferred to a local hospital. Priscilla Palomo, the sister of David Valadez, came across serval Myspace pages that she believed to be her brother's killers and brought it to the attention of the state. Prosecutors used images and comments taken from the Myspace account linked to Tienda during the criminal court case trial. The defendant objected to including these materials, claiming that it had not been proven that they were authentic and that he posted them. The prosecution maintained that, in accordance with the state's interpretation of Federal Rule of Evidence 901(b)(4), the distinguishing qualities of the items demonstrated genuineness. The court agreed and allowed these materials to be used. Tienda attempted to appeal the ruling. The Court of Criminal Appeals was not convinced and ruled that even though there were many possible ways that a page could have been created under the defendant's name, the circumstantial evidence was so strong that it could be used. So, the evidence from Myspace was let in. Although I do not know all the circumstances involving this case, and just by reading what took place, there is a possibility that Tienda wasn't the actual shooter or the one that fired the fatal shots. I do know that he was there, and he was involved. I agree with the court's ruling to allow the Myspace profile to be used as evidence in this case. Mr. Tienda took to the social media platform to brag about what happened. He posted incriminating evidence against himself

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4 SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE COURTS and used social media platforms to communicate about the case. I think in this case, the circumstantial facts outweighed the what if? References Tienda v. State – Case Brief Summary (Texas) | Lawpipe . (n.d.). Www.lawpipe.com. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://www.lawpipe.com/Texas/Tienda_v_State.html Tienda v. State, 358 S.W.3d 633 | Casetext Search + Citator . (n.d.). Casetext.com. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://casetext.com/case/tienda-v-state-10 Court Cases Relevant to Using Social Media Evidence . (n.d.). Bosco Legal Services. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://www.boscolegal.org/resources/social-media-case-law/#62bddd7be6ddd