Emojis in the Courtroom: Legal Significance, Interpretation Challenges, and Real-World Case Examples

Eric Goldman
Eric Goldman | Santa Clara University School of Law

Eric Goldman is Associate Dean for Research, Professor of Law, Co-Director of the High Tech Law Institute, and Co-Supervisor of the Privacy Law Certificate, at Santa Clara University School of Law. His research and teaching focuses on Internet law, and he blogs on that topic at the Technology & Marketing Law Blog.

Live Video-Broadcast: August 8, 2025

2 hour CLE

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Program Summary

Emojis are everywhere, including the courtroom. As courts increasingly navigate emoji-related legal issues, lawyers need to understand how emojis work and how courts interpret them.

This program will cover the basics of emoji technology and law and show how savvy lawyers can use their emoji expertise to deliver better results for their clients.

Key topics to be discussed:

  • What are emojis?
  • What makes emojis unique, special, and different?
  • How do courts interpret emojis?
  • Case studies of emoji interpretation

This course is co-sponsored with myLawCLE.

Date / Time: August 8, 2025

  • 2:00 pm – 4:10 pm Eastern
  • 1:00 pm – 3:10 pm Central
  • 12:00 pm – 2:10 pm Mountain
  • 11:00 am – 1:10 pm Pacific

Closed-captioning available

Speakers

Eric Goldman | Santa Clara University School of Law

Eric Goldman is Associate Dean for Research, Professor of Law, Co-Director of the High Tech Law Institute, and Co-Supervisor of the Privacy Law Certificate, at Santa Clara University School of Law.

His research and teaching focuses on Internet law, and he blogs on that topic at the Technology & Marketing Law Blog [http://blog.ericgoldman.org].

He is a global leader on the topic of emoji law. He published a paper, Emojis and the Law, in 2018 and has given numerous judicial training on the topic.

Agenda

I. What are emojis? | 2:00pm – 2:30pm

II. What makes emojis unique, special, and different? | 2:30pm – 3:00pm

Break | 3:00pm – 3:10pm

III. How do courts interpret emojis? | 3:10pm – 3:40pm

IV. Case studies of emoji interpretation | 3:40pm – 4:10pm

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