Is a Trial by Twitter Hard to Win?

COMMENTARY | According to Good Morning America, jury selection in the Tyler Clementi suicide trial begins today. Dahrun Ravi, Clementi‘s freshman roommate at Rutgers University, is accused of bullying and bias intimidation leading to Clementi’s suicide. Ravi allegedly posted videos online of Clementi kissing another man, which might have prompted him to jump to his death from the George Washington Bridge.

Ravi faces incarceration if convicted of bias intimidation. If prosecutors they want jail time, they must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ravi acted maliciously out of hatred of homosexuality instead of as a “dopey prankster.” How can one prove another person’s thoughts and opinions?

This might become a “trial by Twitter,” where the defendant’s online posts, Internet chats and text messages are used as evidence of true thoughts. How easy will it be for prosecutors to prove bias or prejudice beyond a reasonable doubt?

Though on the surface such a task might seem easy, given there is essentially a mountain of evidence to present, it will not be difficult for defense attorneys to cast doubt on much of it by insisting their client, like so many users of the Internet and social media, was seeking controversy, drama, hype, notoriety and laughs by posting inappropriate comments.

Maybe Ravi wanted laughs, wanted to avoid any homosexual associations due to rooming with a gay man or wanted to impress or fit in with friends who were anti-gay. Though his posts, texts, status updates and tweets might have been anti-gay, how can it be proven they were genuine opinions and not tailored to provoke a desired response?

Ravi’s alleged actions are disgusting and reprehensible. If he did commit them out of hatred he should suffer incarceration. But it is unlikely bias will be proven, nor should it. Trial by Twitter is not a good thing and would hopefully not stand upon appeal. The rapid-fire nature of online, cellphone and social media communication makes it fundamentally different from the written letters of olden days, and even the formal emails of yesteryear. Tweets and status updates, in particular, could be argued to serve more as entertainment and controversial pot-stirrers than honest opinions.

As a twentysomething, I certainly hope that some of my online presence is seen as satire and an attempt to provoke thought rather than my genuine, unbridled opinion. Dahrun Ravi better hope the same thing.

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