There is now debate, Mr. Pfeiffer says, over whether that meant she approved of his advances or was politely trying to keep her distance. Lawyers in the case intend to ask the potential employee during a deposition what she wanted to convey, Mr. Pfeiffer says, who cautions that her answer might not resolve the debate. “It’s like the crying smiling face,” Mr. Pfeiffer says. In a 2015 trial about the Silk Road online drug bazaar, lawyers argued over how to present emoticons in online messages to jurors. A series of emojis sent by a potential tenant to a landlord figured into a lawsuit in Israel.

Source: Wall Street Journal January 29, 2018 16:30 UTC