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Category Archives: Courts

U.S. Charges Hamas Leaders in Oct. 7 Massacre in Israel and Other Terrorist Attacks

The New York Times [this is a free link] -Federal prosecutors charged Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, and five senior members of the group with planning and carrying out years of terrorist attacks in Israel, including the Oct. 7 massacre, according to a sweeping complaint unsealed on Tuesday. The criminal complaint, originally filed in… Continue Reading

Here’s 22 Examples of Google Employees Trying to Avoid Creating Evidence for Court

Court Watch – This article was produced in collaboration with 404 Media, a new independent technology investigations site. By Jason Koebler “In its antitrust case against Google, the Federal Government filed a list of chats it had obtained that show Google employees explicitly asking each other to turn off a chat history feature to discuss… Continue Reading

Your State-by-State Guide to the 2024 Supreme Court Elections

BOLTS – “Voters this year are deciding the fate of 82 seats across 33 states’ high courts. Cases involving abortion, democracy, and other critical issues hang in the balance. The Texas supreme court closed out 2023 by blocking an abortion during a medical emergency, forcing a woman to flee the state. Just days before Christmas,… Continue Reading

Major Publishers Sue Florida Over Banned School Library Books

“Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks have filed a lawsuit against Florida public officials, challenging sweeping book removal provisions of HB 1069, an education law that restricts books in school libraries. The additional plaintiffs joining the publishers are the Authors Guild, bestselling authors Julia Alvarez, Laurie… Continue Reading

Jack Smith attempts to immunity-proof his January 6 Trump indictment. Mostly.

Law Dork: “Donald Trump was indicted again on Tuesday, a superseding indictment in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of the former president for his actions seeking to overturn the 2020 election. The superseding indictment in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., was Smith’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s July decision holding that former presidents… Continue Reading

Field Guide to Police Surveillance

“Welcome to the Field Guide to Police Surveillance. EFF’s Street-Level Surveillance project shines a light on the surveillance technologies that law enforcement agencies routinely deploy in our communities. These resources are designed for advocacy organizations, journalists, defense attorneys, policymakers, and members of the public who often are not getting the straight story from police representatives… Continue Reading

What Happens If Election Officials Refuse to Certify Results?

Democracy Docket on YouTube: “With reports of pro-Trump election officials gearing up to refuse to certify results should Trump lose, the certification process has become a major concern among voters as we heard toward the upcoming election. Sophie Feldman explains how the certification process works and what happens if election officials refuse to certify.” Continue Reading

Etsy for Guns?

Court Watch: A 3D Etsy print shop sells ghost gun parts. “When we think about products typically sold on Etsy, it conjures up images of lovely espresso martini scented candles or maybe even drink coasters you can customize as mini vinyl records with your favorite album covers. After all, Etsy describes itself as “the global… Continue Reading

Has your paper been used to train an AI model? Almost certainly

Nature – Artificial-intelligence developers are buying access to valuable data sets that contain research papers — raising uncomfortable questions about copyright. “Academic publishers are selling access to research papers to technology firms to train artificial-intelligence (AI) models. Some researchers have reacted with dismay at such deals happening without the consultation of authors. The trend is… Continue Reading

FTC Outlines Remedy Concerns in Amicus Brief After Jury Finds Google Illegally Monopolized App Store

“The Federal Trade Commission filed an amicus brief in a case brought by online video game maker Epic Games Inc. against Google LLC’s app store, which outlines how the court should consider potential remedies when determining effective relief to restore competition after Google was found liable for illegal monopolization. The FTC filed its amicus brief… Continue Reading

In November 2024, everything is at stake

“The cornerstone of democracy rests on the foundation of an educated electorate. That’s a quote from Thomas Jefferson, and it’s super-relevant to our situation today. Our schools aren’t doing enough to create an educated electorate, and most of our journalists are doing a terrible job. This is terrifying, because the 2024 elections could be the… Continue Reading

Being an Icon: Reflections on Sandra Day O’Connor

Griffin, Lisa Kern, Being an Icon: Reflections on Sandra Day O’Connor (May 01, 2024). 76 Stanford Law Review (2024), Duke Law School Public Law & Legal Theory Series No. 2024-44, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4874503 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4874503  – “Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s passing in December inspired an outpouring of tributes to the rancher’s daughter who blazed… Continue Reading