Griffin v. State
Maryland Court of Appeals
19 A.3d 415 (2011)
At Antoine Griffin's (defendant) murder trial, the prosecution sought to introduce a MySpace profile allegedly belonging to his girlfriend, Jessica Barber, containing a threatening message toward a witness ("Snitches Get Stitches"), authenticating it not by asking Barber herself if it was hers, but through lead investigator Sergeant Cook's testimony pointing to a photo of Barber and Griffin hugging, Barber's birthdate, and Griffin's nickname appearing on the page. The trial court admitted the evidence over defense objection, Griffin was convicted, the court of special appeals affirmed, and the Maryland Court of Appeals granted certiorari.
Whether a printout of a social networking profile page may be authenticated as belonging to a particular individual based solely on identifying details like a matching photograph and birthdate, without more direct evidence linking the account to that person.