Steven Waterkotte of Combs Waterkotte discusses if deleted social media messages can be retrieved and used against you in court.
This video is part of a series on your legal rights during police interactions. Learn how law enforcement builds a case and how a criminal defense attorney can help protect your freedom.
Interview Transcript
Scott Michael Dunn: Can deleted social media messages be retrieved and use this evidence in court?
Chris Combs: It’s tough.
Steve Waterkotte: As we know, nothing’s truly ever deleted, right? Screenshots, you could delete Snapchat, which the message is viewed and it goes away. Nothing ever truly goes away.
We have cases that they can be subpoenaed. Whether it’s Facebook – again, there could be screenshots of the message itself and it’s deleted. Snapchat, that can be subpoenaed. I don’t know the length each agency has, but Snapchat is frequently subpoenaed for cases and those certainly can be used.
It’s akin to the person making a statement. Obviously, we know statements made by a suspect or defendant can be used against them in court. If that’s a statement that they made or adopted it can be used against them in court.
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