THIS SEEMS ONLY FAIR: Court backs ex-UT players on social media bid in rape case. “A state appellate court ruled Wednesday former University of Tennessee star linebacker A.J. Johnson and a former teammate have the right go after the social media history of the woman who accuses them of rape and her friends in their bid to prove they are wrongfully accused. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals sided with lead defense attorneys Stephen Ross Johnson and David Eldridge on behalf of Johnson and Michael Williams, respectively, in a ruling that not only may bolster their claim of innocence but now opens the door for defense attorneys in criminal cases to directly seek from witnesses social media history without relying on prosecutors or police to do so. . . . Although interviews by the Knoxville Police Department of the accuser and witnesses indicated all had used social media to discuss various aspects of the case, the agency did not follow up with a subpoena to get that social media history. The defense then sought to get it on their own, using subpoenas. The state balked. Judge Bob McGee backed the state but allowed the defense to appeal because of the statewide implications of the issue.”

Here’s the actual opinion, where the court noted that the State “appears to have engaged in a ‘hide the ball’ strategy which is inimical to the constitutional rights laboriously described above.”