Q: can a fictional forum post be used in court or be used to track down the writer or said post?
a post was made of a fictional dream. the forum is in netherlands. poster resides in florida where the post is now part of a warrant for a case involving money laundering and prostitution. can the poster be tracked and the forum post used against him even though it clearly states it was a dream? can a forum post be used against you? the poster is not part of the investigation. post only used in warrant along other posts of the same kind. isnt writing fiction protected under 1st amendment?
A:
If the post which supposedly described a dream someone had, together with other information forming the basis for the warrant, may constitute probable cause justifying an arrest warrant. For example, say you had a dream in which you murdered someone and that someone turned up dead by homicide. The dream, if you write about it, may possibly be evidence that you actually killed that person.
While writing fact or fiction may be protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, that doesn't mean that such writing can't have consequences.
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