Florida Judges Told Not to "Friend" Attorneys

In the latest collision of cyberspace and justice, Florida's Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee has ruled that it is unseemly for judges to be Internet "friends" with lawyers who could have cases in their court. "The committee believes that listing lawyers who may appear before the judge as 'friends' on a judge's social networking page reasonably conveys to others the impression that these lawyer 'friends' are in a special position to influence the judge," it wrote in an opinion.