Media & Communications Law

29,000 Sex Offenders Using MySpace

The estimated number of registered sex offenders among some 180 million people using the social networking site MySpace to post personal profiles has quadrupled. Several months ago, operators of the site said they thought some 7,000 registered sex offenders had posted on MySpace. But now they have upped that estimate…

Jul 25, 2007 11:54 PM CDT

IRS E-Mail Advice to Be Disclosed

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Internal Revenue Service must release e-mail advice prepared by the Office of Chief Counsel for field personnel. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit disagreed with the IRS, which contended that e-mails prepared in less than two hours…

Jul 25, 2007 7:52 PM CDT

Broker Wins $1.6 M in Merrill Arbitration

An NASD securities arbitration panel has awarded $1.6 million to a broker of Iranian descent, saying that Merrill Lynch & Co. first set him up to be fired and then lied about him in an industry regulatory form, making him unemployable. The panel issued an unusually detailed eight-page decision explaining…

Jul 24, 2007 12:30 AM CDT

Dow Jones Director Faces SEC Action

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a member of the newspaper’s corporate board has been notified he will likely be sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission. David Li, a Dow Jones & Co. board member, has received a “Wells notice” informing him that the SEC plans to file…

Jul 19, 2007 4:29 PM CDT

Suit Says New Harry Potter Book Heisted

The new Harry Potter book doesn’t officially debut until Saturday. But lawyers are already in court over what appears to be a bootlegged copy whizzing around on the Internet. Photos of what appear to be actual pages of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—with someone’s fingers visibly holding the book…

Jul 17, 2007 10:27 PM CDT

Facebook Helps Oxford U Enforce Rules

So-called trashings aren’t cricket, under Oxford University rules. But neither is the method the renowned British college is now using to discipline its students for dousing others with champagne, flour and worse in celebration of completing exams, some believe. Disciplinary officials known as proctors have been surfing the Internet, looking…

Jul 17, 2007 8:40 PM CDT

Cockfighting Soon Illegal in 50 States

Cockfighting will soon be illegal in all 50 states. A bill banning the sport in Louisiana, the only state where it is currently legal, was signed yesterday by the state governor and takes effect next summer. It is already illegal to gamble on cockfights in Louisiana under a law that…

Jul 13, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

Media Shields Anthrax Sources

Lawyers for a former Army scientist who says he was improperly named in connection with an anthrax investigation pressed to learn the source of the leak at a hearing on Tuesday. Lawyers for Steven Hatfill said he had met a two-pronged test to compel reporters to reveal their anonymous sources,…

Jul 5, 2007 4:08 PM CDT

Judge Bars Classified Documents

A federal judge has blocked a New York Times lawsuit that sought classified documents related to the government’s warrantless wiretapping program. Judge Richard Berman of Manhattan ruled that the Departments of Defense and Justice were entitled to withhold the material under exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act, the Washington…

Jul 3, 2007 5:53 PM CDT

Lawyers Key to WSJ Sale

Will the Wall Street Journal be sold to Rupert Murdoch? The answer may well depend on lawyers from a Boston firm who are trustees with power to control the fate of the company, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Lawyers from Hemenway & Barnes hold two out of three…

Jul 2, 2007 8:26 PM CDT

FOIA Requests Linger

Some agencies appear to be dragging their feet in response to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act. Sixteen requests for information have been pending for 16 years, and one is 20 years old, according to a survey to be released today by the National Security Archive, a…

Jul 2, 2007 3:47 PM CDT

NYC Jury: Book Scheme Was a Scam

Counsel for Laura Albert said she met her contractual obligation. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t a male prostitute, her defense contended, nor that the book she wrote, “Sarah,” was actually fiction rather than non-fiction. She entered into a contract to sell Antidote International Films Inc. the movie rights to…

Jun 25, 2007 6:23 PM CDT

More Judges Suing for Libel

A newspaper appealing a libel verdict can’t get a hearing before the Illinois Supreme Court. That’s because one of the high court justices was the plaintiff, and four other justices testified on their colleague’s behalf, Adam Liptak writes in his Sidebar column for the New York Times. The Kane County…

Jun 25, 2007 1:47 PM CDT

NYC Jurors Decide: Was Scheme to Portray Fiction as Non-Fiction a Scam?

Was a literary hoax a fraud? That is the question a federal jury in New York City began deciding today, in a case brought by a movie production company to recover money it paid writer Laura Albert for rights to her alleged non-fiction book “Sarah.” The problem is, Sarah was…

Jun 22, 2007 11:13 PM CDT

Crime to Pay for Paris Hilton? Hotel Heiress Offered $1 M for Interview

At least for the moment, it looks like crime may not pay for Paris Hilton. Reportedly offered between $750,000 and $1 million for her first post-incarceration interview after she is released from jail next week, the hotel heiress known for her party girl lifestyle has apparently managed to botch the…

Jun 22, 2007 9:53 PM CDT