ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Florida’s judges and lawyers should no longer “friend” each other on Facebook, the social networking site, the state Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee ruled.

At least one Florida judge warned her pals with a Facebook status update that they could be “unfriended,” and the ruling has prompted others to do the same. The committee ruled Nov. 17 that online “friendships” could create the impression lawyers are in a position to influence judge friends.

The committee concluded a judge can post comments on another judge’s site, however. And the ruling doesn’t single out Facebook: “Although Facebook has been used as an example in this opinion, the holding of the opinion would apply to any social networking site which requires the member of the site to approve the listing of a ‘friend’ or contact on the member’s site.”

Some dissenters said judges should be allowed to have Facebook friends because those relationships are more like “a contact or acquaintance.”

Looks like you got out of Florida just in time, Steve. Florida courts are legislating contacts on social networking sites. I wonder whose brilliant idea this was?