“So holds today’s Obsidian Finance Group v. Cox (9th Cir. Jan. 17, 2014) (in which [Eugene Volokh] represented the defendant). To be precise, the Ninth Circuit concludes that all who speak to the public, whether or not they are members of the institutional press, are equally protected by the First Amendment. To quote the court, The protections of the… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Courts
CDT – Court Strikes Blow to FCC’s Open Internet Rules
“Today, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the Federal Communication Commission’s Open Internet rules in its Verizon v. FCC ruling. The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), which filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of First Amendment scholars, issued the following statement in response to the ruling: “The court’s ruling is disappointing because it strikes… Continue Reading
Prisoners In 2012: Trends In Admissions And Releases, 1991-2012
“The total U.S. correctional population (on probation, parole, in prison or jail) decreased for the fourth consecutive year during 2012 (down 51,000 offenders or 0.7 percent), the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced [December 19, 2013]. This was the smallest decrease in the population since 2009. Nearly the entire drop in the total correctional population during 2012… Continue Reading
HuffPo: James Risen Takes His Press Freedom Fight To The Supreme Court
Jack Mirkinson: “New York Times reporter James Risen said Monday that he has formally taken his legal battle to prevent him from having to reveal confidential sources all the way to the Supreme Court. Risen was ordered last year to testify in the trial of Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA agent charged with leaking classified information… Continue Reading
Costs of Keyword Searching, Data Analysis, Not Recoverable, Federal Circuit Rules
Catalyst E-Discovery Search Blog – by Bob Ambrogi | December 18, 2013 “To what extent can the costs of e-discovery be recovered by a prevailing party in federal court? The U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has just issued an opinion that provides a detailed analysis of that question, concluding that the answer hinges on which costs fall… Continue Reading
CRS – National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations
National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background, January 3, 2014: “Five statutory provisions vest government agencies responsible for certain foreign intelligence investigations (principally the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)) with authority to issue written commands comparable to administrative subpoenas. A National Security Letter (NSL) seeks customer and consumer transaction information in national security investigations from communications providers,… Continue Reading
The Cost of Surveillance
Via Ashkan Soltani: “The Yale Law Journal Online (YLJO) just published an article that Ashkan Soltani co-authored with Kevin Bankston (first workshopped at the Privacy Law Scholars Conference last year) entitled Tiny Constables and the Cost of Surveillance: Making Cents Out of United States v. Jones. In it, we discuss the drastic reduction in the cost of tracking an individual’s location and show how technology has greatly… Continue Reading
CRS – In Re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001
In Re Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001: Claims Against Saudi Defendants Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). Jennifer K. Elsea, Legislative Attorney, December 27, 2013. “Practical and legal hurdles, including the difficulty of locating hidden al Qaeda members and the infeasibility of enforcing judgments in terrorism cases, hinder victims’ attempts to establish liability in U.S. courts against, and… Continue Reading
Federal Appeals Court Rules that Legal Policy Memos Can Be Withheld From the Publi
“The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has ruled that the FBI may withhold a memo prepared by the Office of Legal Counsel concerning the law governing “exigent letter” requests to telephone companies for call records. The decision affirmed an earlier opinion that the memo was privileged advice, and exempt from disclosure under the Freedom information Act. The… Continue Reading
Court Rules in copyright case involving literary figures, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson
Via the blog – Free Sherlock! Holmes belongs to the world: “On Monday, December 23, 2013, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled on the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment against the Conan Doyle Estate in a case involving the literary figures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. The Court’s ruling states,… Continue Reading
Determining the Preemptive Effect of Federal Law on State Statutes of Repose
Determining the Preemptive Effect of Federal Law on State Statutes of Repose, Adam Bain. December 31, University of Baltimore Law Review Forthcoming. “Statutes of repose can prevent causes of actions from arising or being enforced after a given period of time has elapsed from a defined event. In recent years, courts applying the doctrine of federal preemption… Continue Reading
2013 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary
Chief Justice’s Year-End Reports on the Federal Judiciary – December 31, 2013 “Sequestration cuts have affected court operations across the spectrum. There are fewer court clerks to process new civil and bankruptcy cases, slowing the intake procedure and propagating delays throughout the litigation process. There are fewer probation and pretrial services officers to protect the public from defendants awaiting… Continue Reading
