Privacy Law

Suit claims lawyer rerouted former partner’s emails to himself, violating electronic privacy law

A Pennsylvania lawyer is accused of violating federal and state law by rerouting a former partner’s emails to himself. The suit, filed in New Jersey federal court, claims lawyer Robert A. Mitchell of Doylestown violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and wiretap laws in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The laws…

Jul 10, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Judge tosses suits claiming insurance investigators hacked into lawyers’ outside database

A federal judge in California has tossed two lawsuits claiming that private investigators hired by workers’ comp insurance companies hacked into confidential lawyer files stored in an online file-storage system. U.S. District Judge Andrew Guilford of California ruled that the alleged hacking didn’t violate state tort law and couldn’t be…

Jun 29, 2017 12:50 PM CDT

Regulators enlist corporate lawyers in joint response to cyberattacks

Responding quickly to an identity theft, ransomware or other computer attack means having a plan in place. And as participants in the National Institute on Cybersecurity Law learned, that includes a plan to send in the feds. “Figure out if you have to report that breach to my office or…

Jun 26, 2017 4:20 PM CDT

Judge seals settlement in Michael Brown wrongful death suit against Ferguson, cites safety concern

A federal judge in St. Louis has approved a confidential settlement in a wrongful death suit filed by the parents of Michael Brown, whose 2014 shooting death by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer set off a wave of protests. Settlements against government are usually open records under Missouri law, but…

Jun 21, 2017 10:45 AM CDT

Georgia high court rejects state claim that its laws can’t be challenged under state constitution

The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday tossed a challenge to a law banning most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, but rejected the state’s argument that state officials could never be sued in a state constitutional challenge to a state law.

Jun 20, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Did Comey violate privilege by leaking memo? Trump’s lawyer will reportedly file complaint

President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer is targeting fired FBI director James Comey over his revelation on Thursday that he gave a memo summarizing a meeting with the president to a friend so he could give it the press.

Jun 9, 2017 10:30 AM CDT

Government contractor employee charged with leaking information about Russian hacking

A 25-year-old woman who worked for a government contractor has been charged for allegedly leaking a top-secret National Security Agency document about Russian hacking that targeted local election officials.

Jun 6, 2017 8:39 AM CDT

Do police need warrant for cellphone location records? Supreme Court will decide

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether police need to obtain a search warrant to obtain past location data for a suspect’s cellphone. The American Civil Liberties Union asked the Supreme Court to hear the case on behalf of its client, Timothy Carpenter, a convicted armed robber.…

Jun 5, 2017 10:40 AM CDT

Man is jailed for failing to give police a working password to his smartphone

A Florida man accused of child abuse was jailed for failing to give police a working password to his smartphone. Christopher Wheeler, 41, of Hollywood, Florida, was found in contempt of court earlier this month and sentenced to 180 days in jail on Tuesday, report the Miami Herald and the…

May 31, 2017 12:35 PM CDT

Wikipedia publisher may sue over NSA ‘upstream’ surveillance, federal appeals court rules

A federal appeals court has ruled the Wikimedia Foundation has standing to sue over the government’s warrantless, temporary collection of email communications during its searches for targeted international communications flowing through the United States. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the Wikipedia publisher to sue over…

May 24, 2017 10:53 AM CDT

Sweden drops sexual assault probe against WikiLeaks founder, but his legal troubles aren’t over

Prosecutors in Sweden on Friday dropped a sexual assault investigation of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, but he still faces a warrant for his arrest in London and the possibility of an indictment in the United States. Sweden’s director of public prosecutions, Marianne Ny, said charges were dropped because authorities need…

May 19, 2017 9:48 AM CDT

Judge in child porn case tosses pictures found after Geek Squad contacted FBI

A federal judge in California has tossed pictures collected in a search of a physician’s home that was conducted after Best Buy’s Geek Squad discovered an image of a nude child on the doctor’s computer. The lawyer for gynecologic oncologist Mark Rettenmaier had maintained his client’s Fourth Amendment rights were…

May 17, 2017 2:31 PM CDT

Former prostitute wins $1.7M verdict against lawyer for privacy invasion

Jurors in Denver have awarded a woman $1.7 million in damages in her privacy invasion suit against a Colorado lawyer who exposed her secret life as a prostitute. Suspended lawyer Sean Saxon was found liable for revealing Jerene Dildine’s work to her family members and classmates, CBS 4 reports. Dildine…

May 16, 2017 10:57 AM CDT

Richard Simmons sues over tabloids’ sex change stories

Richard Simmons says he supports transgender rights, but he is entitled to truthful reporting on his personal life. The fitness guru on Monday sued the National Enquirer and Radar Online for reporting that he had undergone “shocking sex surgery” and was “now living as a gal named Fiona,” report the…

May 9, 2017 1:08 PM CDT

ABA expresses concern about border searches of lawyer laptops and other electronic devices

ABA President Linda Klein is expressing serious concern about standards that permit searches of lawyer laptops and other electronic devices at the border in the absence of reasonable suspicion.

May 5, 2017 3:35 PM CDT