Privacy Law

‘Westworld’ story lines connect with real-world legal issues

A fictional theme park with a wild west theme is the setting for the HBO series Westworld, where guests pay to live out their fantasies. Those familiar with the darker side of the human condition won’t be surprised to learn that these fantasies often entail patrons killing as many of the amusement park hosts as they please.

May 21, 2018 7:10 AM CDT

Senator asks pointed questions about telecom company’s sale of cellphone location data

A private telecommunications company is selling cellphone user location data to law enforcement agencies, and a Democratic senator has some questions about its compliance with the Fourth Amendment.

May 15, 2018 4:11 PM CDT

Prosecutor drops privacy invasion charge against Missouri governor after jury selection begins

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens no longer faces a felony charge of privacy invasion for allegedly taking a nude photo of his onetime mistress without her knowledge.

May 15, 2018 10:28 AM CDT

DC Circuit orders US to submit information about any attorney-client eavesdropping at Guantanamo

A federal appeals court has ordered the U.S. government to submit classified information about possible attorney-client eavesdropping at Guantanamo Bay. The appeals court acted in a case filed by two lawyers who resigned from representing the accused mastermind of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole after finding a microphone…

May 14, 2018 3:43 PM CDT

Unauthorized rental-car driver generally has privacy rights in police search, Supreme Court rules

A driver of a rental car who isn’t listed on the rental agreement generally retains a reasonable expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment when police seek to search the car, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote the unanimous opinion in the case of Terrence…

May 14, 2018 1:24 PM CDT

Forensic search of cellphone seized at border requires some form of suspicion, 4th Circuit says

Some form of individualized suspicion is needed before the government can use forensic software to search a cellphone seized at the border, a federal appeals court said Wednesday. The decision by the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was considered a victory by privacy advocates, though the Turkish…

May 10, 2018 4:20 PM CDT

Judge who sued neighbor over urinating cat got case records sealed; law prof seeks access

A judge in Washington state who sought a restraining order against his neighbor’s urinating cat was able to get court records sealed in the case.

May 3, 2018 11:44 AM CDT

Supreme Court to consider cy pres awards that give no money to class-action plaintiffs

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether a class-action settlement in a suit against Google met requirements of federal law when $5.3 million of the $8.5 million settlement fund was given to outside groups and $2.125 million went to attorney fees. The cy pres award was directed…

Apr 30, 2018 11:26 AM CDT

Florida police try to use dead man’s finger to unlock his phone; was a warrant needed?

Police in Largo, Florida, investigating the death of a man shot by one of the department’s officers visited a funeral home last month in an effort to unlock his phone. Police held the dead man’s finger to the phone, but were unable to unlock it, the Tampa Bay Times reports.…

Apr 23, 2018 11:46 AM CDT

Facebook must face class action over facial recognition, judge rules

Illinois Facebook users may sue the social media giant for collecting their facial recognition information, a federal judge ruled this week.

Apr 18, 2018 3:00 PM CDT

New law makes Microsoft case on search warrants moot, Supreme Court says

New legislation allowing warrants to reach emails held on overseas servers has made moot a pending U.S. Supreme Court case involving Microsoft, the high court ruled on Tuesday. In a per curiam decision, the Supreme Court said the case should be dismissed. At issue in the case was whether the…

Apr 17, 2018 9:33 AM CDT

Clients hang up in disbelief when lawyer calls to tell them of $61M verdict over unwanted calls

The West Virginia law firm of Bailey & Glasser wants its class clients to know they are eligible for an award as a result of a $61 million verdict against Dish Network for its marketing calls.

Apr 16, 2018 10:01 AM CDT

‘Right to be forgotten’ can apply to criminals: UK high court rules against Google

The “right to be forgotten” notched a win in the High Court of England and Wales, requiring Google to delist references to a businessman’s criminal history.

Apr 16, 2018 8:00 AM CDT

Trump allies reportedly fear FBI-seized taped conversations made by Trump lawyer Michael Cohen

Allies of President Donald Trump are reportedly worried that FBI agents seized taped conversations made by the president’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, in raids of his office, home and hotel room on Monday.

Cohen sometimes taped conversations and replayed the digital files for colleagues and Trump himself, according to anonymous sources who spoke with the Washington Post. One source told the newspaper that Cohen liked to record calls so he could use them later as leverage.

Apr 13, 2018 8:29 AM CDT

2 lawyers and their client are acquitted in Waffle House CEO sex-tape trial

Two Georgia lawyers and their client have been acquitted on charges that they violated a state eavesdropping law when the client secretly recorded a video showing her engaged in a sex act with her boss, Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers Jr. Jurors on Wednesday acquitted Mye Brindle—Rogers’ former housekeeper—and lawyers,…

Apr 12, 2018 10:15 AM CDT