Nota Bene

Hearings held over U.S. policy of warrantless border search and seizure of laptops

Jeffrey Lewis — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:46:51 +0000

Yahoo! Tech reports:

Miffed that, if you return home from travel overseas, U.S. Customs can decide to search, and even seize, all the files on your computer, your camera, and even your cell phone? So is Senator Russ Feingold, who opened Congressional hearings on the matter last week with a scathing indictment on the practice.

In Feingold’s published opening remarks *** he begins by saying that most Americans are probably not even aware that the practice is now commonplace here. In fact, it’s been going on for at least two years; a full seven percent of business travelers now report having electronic equipment seized at the border.

The New York Times has more here.

Get ready for the second Scott Peterson trial

Jeffrey Lewis — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:19:02 +0000

The AP reports:

Convicted killer Scott Peterson will be heading to trial again over the death of his pregnant wife, this time in civil court. The parents of Laci Peterson have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against him, seeking a multimillion-dollar judgment. A Stanislaus County Superior Court judge ruled Friday that Peterson would have to stand trial in the civil case.

U.S. Supreme Court declines to disturb federal court ruling favoring Fantasy Baseball

Jeffrey Lewis — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:01:59 +0000

The Las Vegas Sun reports:

Without comment, the justices declined to hear the case involving a segment of the $1.5 billion fantasy sports industry in the United States, in which participants manage imaginary teams based on the real-life performances of professional players.The lawsuit involves C.B.C. Distribution and Marketing Inc., a Missouri company unable to obtain a license from a subsidiary of Major League Baseball to use players’ names in C.B.C.’s fantasy baseball games.

The Missouri company sued, saying it did not need a license to continue to sell its fantasy baseball games on its Web site.

The baseball players’ union jumped into the case on the league’s side, alleging a state law violation of the players’ publicity rights _ the ability to profit from the commercial use of a person’s name.

A federal court and the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ruled in favor of the fantasy baseball business, saying that enforcing state law rights would violate C.B.C.’s right of free speech protected by the First Amendment.

Criminalizing balloon sales

Jeffrey Lewis — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:23:46 +0000

The AP reports:

The California Senate on Thursday voted to ban helium-filled metallic balloons because they too frequently fly away and get tangled in electrical lines. That has caused hundreds of power outages in recent years and led to costly repairs for utilities.

Starting in 2010, anyone caught selling the popular party supplies faces a $100 fine under a bill the Senate sent to the state Assembly.

Sen. Jack Scott, D-Altadena, says the balloons are a growing cause of outages when they break free and cause power lines to arc.

You can review Senate Bill 1499 here.

This Week in Law Discusses Blogging and Podcasting Liability and Insurance Issues

Jeffrey Lewis — Wed, 28 May 2008 17:54:59 +0000

This Week in Law is one of the more useful podcasts floating around the internet. April’s edition covers the liability and insurance issues that arise from blogging and podcasting. Suppose you are a lawyer and are sued for a blog post or podcast. Will that lawsuit be covered by insurance? What are the employer-employee ramifications for blogging? Do any insurers sell policies that cover blogging? What do they cost? This Week in Law’s expert panel discusses these issues and suggests some best practices for minimizing risk while blogging and podcasting. Any attorney who blogs or who advises companies that allow blogging should listen to this excellent podcast.

Ninth Circuit allows courts to examine “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” discharges from the military more closely

Jeffrey Lewis — Thu, 22 May 2008 01:05:33 +0000

The Associated Press reports:

The military cannot automatically discharge people because they’re gay, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday in the case of a decorated flight nurse who sued the Air Force over her dismissal.

The three judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not strike down the military’s “dont ask, dont tell” policy. But they reinstated Maj. Margaret Witts’ lawsuit, saying the Air Force must prove that her dismissal furthered the military’s goals of troop readiness and unit cohesion.

The “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue, dont harass” policy prohibits the military from asking about the sexual orientation of service members but requires discharge of those who acknowledge being gay or engaging in homosexual activity.

(more…)

California Supreme Court allows prosecutors who help make movies and books off cases to remain on the case

Jeffrey Lewis — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:57:58 +0000

The Sacramento Bee reports:

The state’s high court ruled Monday that a Santa Barbara deputy district attorney who helped in the making of the movie “Alpha Dog” can stay on the real-life death penalty case on which the film is based.

In a similar ruling Monday, the court reinstated a Santa Barbara prosecutor who was taken off a case after she published a crime novel with some of the same features as the actual case.

In the “Alpha Dog” case, a lower appeals court had removed Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen after he turned over probation reports, police files and other sensitive materials to director Nick Cassavetes. “Alpha Dog,” a fictionalized account of the case that starred Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone and Justin Timberlake, was released last year.

You can access the Alpha Dog case here and the second, related case here.

Litigating support of terror

Jeffrey Lewis — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:35:44 +0000

Reuters reports:

American victims of bombings and rocket attacks in Israel have sued Swiss bank UBS AG for more than $500 million, accusing the bank of helping fund the militants behind the attacks through dealings with Iran.

The lawsuit seeks damages from Switzerland’s largest bank for more than 50 U.S. citizens hurt or relatives of those killed in bombings in Israel between 1997 and 2006 that it said were carried out by militant groups Hezbollah, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

UBS AG broke several 1996 U.S. laws that prohibit persons and companies from engaging with state sponsors of terrorism and were designed to impede Iran’s access to foreign capital, the suit said.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday in federal court in New York, cited U.S. government reports that conclude Iran has been the main sponsor of Hezbollah and Hamas since 1996, including providing tens of millions of cash annually. The U.S. government considers Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist organizations.

“UBS knew full well that the cash dollars it was providing to a state-sponsor of terrorism such as Iran would be used to cause and facilitate terrorist attacks by Iranian-sponsored terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah and PIJ,” the lawsuit said.

Twitter-ing your way to a bigger legal practice?

Jeffrey Lewis — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:52:40 +0000

The Law Firm Strategy Blog opines:

Have you heard of Twitter yet? Perhaps not. And hopefully not, as this post is intended to explain one of the latest web-tools on our collective horizon.

What you should know is this: Politicians in the current US election are levering it, news outlets like CNN & Canada’s CBC are offering headlines that can be mixed into your reading stream, and companies like Southwest airlines are using it to interact with customers & take feedback.

It’s widely considered the fastest growing tool of web influence, and will at some point have a trickle down effect for the legal industry.

(Via Home Office Lawyer)

Reporter faces fines for protecting her sources for 2001 anthrax attack story

Jeffrey Lewis — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:45:38 +0000

The Associated Press reports:

A former USA Today reporter facing fines for failing to reveal her sources for stories about the 2001 anthrax attacks said Saturday that news organizations need to go on the offensive in the fight to protect the First Amendment.

“As we all know, the news business is on a collective nervous breakdown,” Toni Locy told a coalition of open-government and press groups. “It’s time to stop running. It’s time to turn and fight. If we don’t fight for the First Amendment, who will?”

Locy, who now teaches journalism at West Virginia University, spoke at the annual convention of the National Freedom of Information Coalition.

She said the country needs a shield law that would protect reporters from having to reveal their sources.

“The First Amendment needs some help,” she said. “In this environment that we’re in now, it needs some help.”

Locy is appealing an order from U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton that requires her to pay as much as $5,000 a day until she gives up her sources for stories about the government’s investigation of the anthrax attacks.