Fate of Lavabit appeal has ‘Wide-ranging implications’ for the internetAFP Photo / Mehdi Fedouach Lawyers for Lavabit, a recently-shuttered email service once used by Edward Snowden, told a federal appeals court this week that the government had no reason to request from the company a code that could unlock the encrypted messages of its 410,000 users.
US announces early release plan for nonviolent, low-level drug offendersAndrew Burton / Getty Images / AFP The Obama administration announced Thursday a new clemency effort that encourages defense lawyers to refer to the Department of Justice low-level, nonviolent drug offenders for early release from federal prisons. Speaking before the New York State Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section, Deputy Attorney General James M.
Court prohibits vocal fracking critic from entering 40% of Pennsylvania countyAn anti-fracking activist has been barred from entering over 300 sq miles of an area of Pennsylvania that includes a county hospital, a drug store, supermarket, and a number of other locations she regularly visited before clashing with local officials.
Independent board says NSA phone program should endThe board’s conclusion goes further than President Obama, who said in a speech Friday that he thought the NSA’s database of records should be moved out of government hands but did not call for an outright halt to the program. The board had shared its conclusions with Obama in the days leading up to his speech.
IP address does not prove online piracy, US judge says in landmark rulingReuters / Lee Jae-Won A US federal judge in Washington wrote that a suspected internet pirate should not be prosecuted solely because his computer’s IP address was identified by a film studio. The landmark opinion may tip the fortunes of defendants in similar situations.
Govt retaining documents thought to detail unknown NSA programsReuters / Carlo Allegri Officials from the US Justice Department have admitted that they have intentionally not provided documents related to NSA surveillance activity in response to a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union.
New documents: NSA provided 2-3 daily “tips” to FBI for at least 3 yearsNSA leaks View all… According to newly declassified court orders from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), the National Security Agency was (and may still be) tipping off the FBI at least two to three times per day going back at least to 2006.
Feds accuse Walmart of threatening, intimidating employees who protest companyAFP Photo / Robyn Beck Federal officials issued a complaint against Walmart Wednesday, formally charging the corporate monolith of breaking US labor law when it attempted to break up Black Friday protests organized by its workers.
NYC to pay $18 mil for RNC arrests in largest protest settlement in US historyNew York City has agreed to pay $18 million for the arrest, detention and fingerprinting of hundreds of protesters, journalists and legal observers during the 2004 Republican National Convention, marking the largest protest settlement ever in the US.
Supreme Court hands Monsanto victory over farmers on GMO seed patents, ability to sueReuters / Darren Hauck The US Supreme Court upheld biotech giant Monsanto’s claims on genetically-engineered seed patents and the company’s ability to sue farmers whose fields are inadvertently contaminated with Monsanto materials.
States may bind together to fight federal gun lawsAFP Photo / Emmanuel Dunand Lawmakers in Missouri are once again trying to nullify federal gun laws within the Show-Me State, and this time around they hope Second Amendment advocates elsewhere will join in their fight.
Judge rules TSA no-fly procedures unconstitutionalDespite a series of disgraceful dirty tricks, the TSA has lost its case against Dr Rahinah Ibrahim, a Malaysian academic who had been wrongly put on the no-fly list.
US govt appeals ruling denouncing NSA’s mass phone surveillance as unconstitutionalReuters / Zoran Milich The US Justice Department appealed Friday a federal judge’s December ruling that advanced a legal challenge to the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of Americans’ telephone records. The Justice Department filed the appeal with the US Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington.
ACLU follows through on vow to appeal decision to dismiss NSA suitAFP Photo / Karen Bleier The American Civil Liberties Union has filed an appeal against the US National Security Agency’s indiscriminate collection of telephone metadata after the group’s suit seeking to halt the policy was dismissed last week.
Court Rules No Suspicion Needed for Laptop Searches at BorderDecember 31, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: 212-549-2666,media@aclu.org BROOKLYN – A federal court today dismissed a lawsuit arguing that the government should not be able to search and copy people’s laptops, cell phones, and other devices at border checkpoints without reasonable suspicion. An appeal is being considered.
Father of slain Tsarnaev associate pens letter to Obama, alleges FBI deliberately killed sonThe father of Ibragim Todashev, former friend of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, has released an open letter to President Barack Obama calling for justice after his son’s murder. Todashev was killed by FBI agents in May. Abdulbaki Todashev’s letter includes photos of his son’s bullet-ridden body and his bloodstained Orlando, Florida apartment.
State Dept whistleblower’s emails hacked, deletedA US State Department whistleblower whose personal email files contained allegations of abuse and wrongdoing has had his account hacked. Four years of potential evidence has been deleted, his lawyer announced. A computer attack of unknown origin appears to have targeted Richard Higbie, a criminal investigator with the Diplomatic Security Service who earlier this year accused the State Department of blocking his career advancement.
A Tool Consumers NeedThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently issued a report on “pre-dispute” arbitration, also known as forced arbitration. That is the ubiquitous corporate practice of requiring consumers to agree in advance to use arbitration for any dispute that arises from a company’s products or services, rather than go to court.