Can those steamy text messages sent to a mistress be used by the spurned wife’s divorce attorney? What about exchanges on your Facebook page? Can they be introduced as evidence? Can a “tweet” be libel or slander?

Can the law keep up with the torrid pace of technology?

These and a battery of other legal questions raised by the digital sprawl of social media will be explored by five prominent attorneys during a panel discussion from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3, in the Wilkins Moot Courtroom at the UC Davis School of Law.

The panel, entitled “Social Media as Evidence: New Legal and Ethical Frontiers" will include:

• Sacramento attorney Roger Dreyer, who is representing the plaintiffs in a high-profile lawsuit stemming from the death of a radio station contestant following a “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” competition. Jurors were asked to sign declarations that they would not access information about the case on the Internet during the trial.
• Anupam Chander, a UC Davis School of Law professor who specializes in cyberlaw and intellectual property.
• Edward Imwinkelreid, a UC Davis School of Law professor who specializes in rules of evidence.
• Cassandra Ferrannini, a partner in the Sacramento law firm Downey Brand and an expert in employment law.
• Catherine Kirkman, a partner in the Palo Alto law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, publisher of the Silicon Valley Media Law Blog and an expert in media and technology law.

The panel will be moderated by Hollis Kulwin, senior assistant dean for student affairs at the UC Davis School of Law. The event is part of Digital Media Day, a program organized by the Entertainment and Sports Law student group at the UC Davis School of Law.