In the Case of State V

In the case of State v. Palermo, the state of New Hampshire prosecuted the defendant for sexual assault and admitted a Facebook message posting that the court held was properly authenticated as having been generated by the defendant. Palermo contended that the Facebook message posting was not sufficiently authenticated. The reviewing court decided that:

A) the prosecution properly authenticated the Facebook-posted message because the defendant had access to the account and to the iPad at the relevant time, and the fact that other persons could have gained access to his open account was insufficient to indicate lack of authenticity.
B) the Facebook-posted message was properly admitted because all Facebook postings are considered to be self-authenticating.
C) the document posted on Facebook should not have been admitted because it could not be properly authenticated when other individuals could have obtained access to the open Facebook account and could have written the message.
D) there was not sufficient evidence that the defendant wrote what was posted to the defendant's Facebook account because the court recognized that almost anyone could hack a Facebook account and add data to it. The reviewing court overturned the defendant's convictions.