Mistake #1: Violating Bail By Drinking, Mistake #2: Posting Photos On Facebook

Details: Published on Friday, 05 June 2009; Written by Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune

Having their pictures posted on Facebook while partying with friends may not seem like a big deal to many college students. But for a Campton Hills woman charged in a DUI-related fatal crash, those pictures had serious consequences.

Under orders from a Kane County judge, Erika Scoliere, 20, was outfitted Thursday with an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet after police found online photos of her consuming alcohol on Facebook.

The woman, who is awaiting trial, was charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI after a July 2007 collision in South Elgin that killed a motorcyclist.

As a condition of her bail, Scoliere had been ordered not to consume alcohol or be around people who are drinking, but South Elgin police found photos of Scoliere, who attends college in Ohio, drinking with friends.

"It appears the defendant is having a grand old time drinking tequila," Judge Thomas Mueller said during Wednesday's court hearing as he leafed through copies of the pictures.

" 'Erika passed out in my bed. Ha Ha,' " the judge said, quoting one of the captions.

Jennifer Grasz, a spokeswoman for careerbuilder.com, said situations like Scoliere's show the danger of posting questionable material. Increasing numbers of employers use Facebook and other sites to check on potential employees, she said.

"Once you post something online, it's online for an unlimited amount of time," Grasz said.

A basic rule, she said, is not to post material you wouldn't feel comfortable being seen by a family member or a prospective employer.

Assistant State's Atty. Steve Sims argued for the ankle monitor for Scoliere, noting that she had previously violated her bail.

In a 2008 hearing, it was revealed that she never contacted the county court services department for any of the weekly phone check-ins while away at school. Scoliere's attorney had characterized the situation as a misunderstanding.

Her attorney, Stephen Komie, argued that the anklet would be open up Scoliere to public scorn. "It imposes the red 'A' that Hawthorne talked about in 'The Scarlet Letter,' " Komie said.

But the judge, noting the previous violation, said, "she has now earned the privilege of wearing the SCRAM bracelet."

SCRAM stands for Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor. The device can detect alcohol via perspiration and will alert authorities. Scoliere will be charged $15 a day to wear the device, which has been in use in Kane County since 2007.

After the hearing, Scoliere, accompanied by her parents, left the courtroom in tears.

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