Chicago DUI lawyer warns that Facebook can get you busted on a Chicago DUI

We have all heard of the problems that arise from dialing while drunk.  We even know about the phenomena of emailing while drunk.  Google even offers a remedy for sending out emails while drunk.  Now we discover that pictures on Facebook and other online social networking sites can get you in big trouble if you have a DUI.

June 4, Geneva, Il

Having your picture posted on Facebook while partying with friends may not seem like a big deal to most college students. But for a Campton Hills woman charged in a DUI-related fatal accident, such pictures had serious consequences.

A Kane County judge ordered Erika Scoliere, 20, to be outfitted Thursday with an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet after police found photos of her consuming alcohol on the online social networking site.

"It appears the defendant is having a grand old time drinking tequila," Judge Thomas Mueller said during Wednesday's court hearing as he leafed through copies of the pictures.

"'Erika passed out in my bed. Ha Ha,'" the judge said, quoting one of the captions.
Assistant State's Atty. Steve Sims argued for the ankle monitor, noting that Scoliere had previously violated her bail. 

In a 2008 hearing, it was revealed that she never contacted the county court services department for any of the weekly phone check-ins while away at school. Scoliere's attorney had characterized the situation as a misunderstanding.

She has to wear an alcohol-monitoring device because she was busted on Facebook.  I am a bit surprised that the police were even monitoring Facebook.  Hmmm, maybe they got a tip from someone instead.  It certainly isn't the first instance of the police using Facebook.  In our technologically advanced society Big Brother is always watching and social networking sites are just one more way for the government to monitor you.