Appellate court justices who discover that a staffer has posted something unethical on social media should act immediately to ensure the comments are removed from public view, a California Supreme Court ethics committee advised on Tuesday.

In oral advice, the 12-member Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions said court staff are allowed to post on Twitter, Facebook and other outlets about their work or the judicial system in general, as long as they avoid comments about current matters or topics that might threaten a fair trial or hearing.