Twitter hands over subpoenaed records in Occupy Wall Street prosecution

Twitter complied today with a court order to hand over to New York prosecutors an Occupy Wall Street protester’s tweets and subscriber information.

On Wednesday, two days after the Appellate Term of the state Supreme Court denied the social networking company's request to stay proceedings, New York City Criminal Court Judge Matthew Sciarrino Jr. ordered the company to present the subpoenaed information by today or face criminal and civil contempt charges.

Terryl Brown, an attorney representing Twitter, was not available for comment on the company’s decision to comply with the order. In a memorandum filed late Tuesday, the company argued that handing over the requested documents would forfeit its right to appeal an issue that “will have implications for millions of Twitter users in New York.” As of late this afternoon, Twitter had not released a statement about its intent regarding the appeal.

In October, protester Malcolm Harris was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after he, along with 700 other activists, allegedly marched on the Brooklyn Bridge, trickling onto the roadway. The New York County District Attorney’s Office said it was interested in Harris’ Twitter activity because it might show the protestor was aware he was not supposed to walk on the bridge’s roadway, disproving his anticipated defense that he was unaware that walking there was prohibited.