Internet Law

Compelled-password decision is ‘death knell’ for Fifth Amendment, state justice argues

A defendant can be compelled to enter a password to his cellphone as long as prosecutors prove just one thing, Massachusetts’ top court has ruled. Prosecutors must show beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knows the password, according to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Prosecutors met that burden in…

Mar 11, 2019 2:10 PM CDT

Lawyer arrested on intimidation charge after allegedly writing ‘This nasty creature is a known snitch’ on Facebook

A Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer is being held without bail after her arrest Tuesday for allegedly making threats on Facebook in posts that discussed a “snitch” and used a rat emoji. Alexis Plunkett, 38, is charged with bribing or intimidating a witness and dissuading or preventing a person from…

Mar 7, 2019 11:01 AM CST

Appeals court says judge’s Facebook friendship with child-custody litigant could show bias

A Wisconsin judge created the appearance of partiality when he accepted a Facebook friend request from a woman before giving her sole custody of her son, a state appeals court has ruled. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that the woman’s request to modify custody should be relitigated before…

Feb 22, 2019 7:45 AM CST

99% of website sign-up contracts are unreadable, study finds

Sign-up terms and conditions on the most popular U.S. websites have an average readability level on par with articles in academic journals, according to a study by two law professors. The professors used two readability tests to review “sign-in-wrap contracts” that consumers are required to accept before they sign up…

Feb 21, 2019 9:24 AM CST

Former DA’s fake Facebook page, intended to ‘snoop’ bath salt sales, cited in suspension

A former Pennsylvania district attorney has been suspended from law practice partly because she created a fake Facebook page to investigate banned sales of bath salts being used as drugs. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court suspended former Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller for a year and a day in…

Feb 19, 2019 7:00 AM CST

Misleading GoFundMe appeal with offer for free legal advice leads to lawyer’s suspension

A Charleston, West Virginia, lawyer who set up a misleading GoFundMe page to fund his transition to solo practice has been suspended from law practice. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals suspended the lawyer, Mark Allen Glover, for 42 months in a Jan. 10 order. He also received a…

Jan 31, 2019 12:42 PM CST

Discovery documents provided to Russian firm were altered and posted online, Mueller says

Law firm Reed Smith has released a statement Wednesday saying its computer systems were not breached after special counsel Robert Mueller revealed that someone claiming to be a hacker had posted discovery materials provided to its client, a Russian company accused of funding a Russian effort to interfere in the…

Jan 31, 2019 9:00 AM CST

Judge in Yahoo data breach case criticizes ‘unreasonably high’ attorney fees

A federal judge in San Jose, California, on Monday refused to approve a class action settlement in litigation over a series of Yahoo data breaches, citing a lack of transparency and the possibility of “unreasonably high” attorney fees. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh cited several problems with the proposed settlement,…

Jan 30, 2019 1:46 PM CST

Former prosecutor’s disbarment for anonymous online posts is lesson for other lawyers, court says

A former federal prosecutor has been disbarred for posting anonymous online comments about cases being handled by himself or by his office. The Louisiana Supreme Court ordered the disbarment of Sal Perricone in a Dec. 5 decision noted by the Legal Profession Blog. The court said Perricone had violated ethics…

Dec 10, 2018 7:25 AM CST

Cybersquatters have taken advantage of BigLaw mergers to beat those firms to the trademark registry

Chinese copycats have long bedeviled popular brands in fashion and consumer products, but cybersquatters in China now target major global law firms–registering names, especially well-known brand or company names, as internet domains, with the hope of reselling them for a profit.

Nov 1, 2018 12:30 AM CDT

Supreme Court to decide whether public access channel can be sued for First Amendment violation

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the operator of a public-access TV channel is a state actor who can be sued by two producers for an alleged First Amendment violation. The case raises a broader question of whether private property can be a public forum, according to Howe on the Court and the Constitution Daily.

Oct 15, 2018 1:50 PM CDT

Writer sues creator of crowdsourced spreadsheet that accused him of abuse, seeks to out contributors

A writer who was accused of sexual misconduct on a crowdsourced Google spreadsheet of “Shitty Media Men” has sued the creator of the list, along with Jane Doe defendants who contributed to it. Writer Stephen Elliott of New Orleans filed the suit Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn, report the…

Oct 12, 2018 3:30 PM CDT

Department of Justice to sue California over state’s new net neutrality rules

The Trump administration will sue California to try and block the state’s net neutrality law, which sets up yet another high-profile battle between the federal government and the country’s most populous state. Politico, the Verge and the Washington Post have stories. Signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday…

Oct 1, 2018 12:30 PM CDT

Hackers are increasingly gaining access to systems to mine cryptocurrency, report finds

Hackers are using illegal means to create cryptocurrency at an increasing rate thanks to a software vulnerability leaked by the National Security Agency, says a new report shining light on a novel criminal aspect of cryptocurrency.

Sep 21, 2018 6:05 AM CDT

9th Circuit reinstates First Amendment challenge to cyberstalking law

A federal appeals court has allowed an activist to pursue his First Amendment challenge to Washington state’s cyberstalking law. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the abstention doctrine does not bar retired Air Force Maj. Richard Lee Rynearson III from pursuing the case, report Courthouse News…

Sep 11, 2018 12:55 PM CDT