ALTHOUGH HARMLESS, IT WAS ERROR TO ADMIT THE CONTENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS WITHOUT AUTHENTICATING THE ACCOUNTS, PHOTOGRAPHS AND STATEMENTS (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department determined it was (harmless) error to admit in evidence the content of social media accounts which was not authenticated:
We disagree … with the Supreme Court’s determination admitting into evidence certain content from various social media accounts … . The People failed to present sufficient evidence that the subject social media accounts belonged to the defendant, that the photographs on the accounts were accurate and authentic, or that the statements found on one of the accounts were made by the defendant … . People v Upson, 2020 NY Slip Op 04876, Second Dept 9-2-2020