Lawyer’s work on Rand Paul’s suit over NSA surveillance goes unrecognized

The lawyer who drafted most of Rand Paul’s lawsuit against the National Security Agency didn’t get credit—or full payment—for his work, according to the lawyer’s ex-wife, who is none too happy about the omission. Paul’s suit challenging the NSA’s bulk collection of phone records was drafted by Bruce Fein, his…

Feb 13, 2014 2:07 PM CST

Is it OK to Google a client? A rule of thumb for physicians may work for lawyers, too

Twin Design / Shutterstock.com Patients don’t hesitate to search their physicians’ names on Google, to see what information they can find. But when doctors look up their patients on the Internet, some individuals feel their privacy has been violated. Although the American College of Physicians says doctors should avoid doing…

Feb 12, 2014 10:05 PM CST

Did US Cellular violate law by releasing texts in divorce case? Judge raps company, sanctions lawyer

A judge on Maine’s top court is using a lawyer’s ethics case to criticize U.S. Cellular for turning over thousands of subpoenaed text messages in a divorce case. Justice Donald Alexander said U.S. Cellular violated a federal privacy law, report the Associated Press and the Morning Sentinel. “The Stored Communications…

Feb 7, 2014 3:01 PM CST

MeetMe has inadequate privacy protections for minors, city attorney alleges in lawsuit

The MeetMe social networking site is facing a lawsuit that claims it has inadequate privacy protections, putting minors at risk of targeting by sexual predators. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed suit on Monday, report the San Francisco Examiner, Bay City News Service and the Los Angeles Times. The…

Feb 4, 2014 6:00 PM CST

Chemerinsky: Is it time to go high-tech on the Fourth Amendment?

On Jan. 17, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in two cases that hopefully will force it to bring the Fourth Amendment into the 21st century. In United States v. Wurie and California v. Riley the court will consider whether the police, after arresting an individual, may look at the…

Feb 4, 2014 2:45 PM CST

Proposed bill would limit consumer lawsuits against retailers who comply with data-security rules

In the wake of massive security breaches that reportedly took place in recent months at Target, Nieman Marcus and, security experts say, probably other retailers as well, federal lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan bill that would impose new requirements on companies concerning the protection of confidential information related to credit…

Jan 21, 2014 7:00 PM CST

Do cops need warrant to search cellphones seized during arrest? SCOTUS to decide

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether police need a warrant to search cellphones seized during an arrest. The court accepted two cases raising the issue, one involving an old flip phone and the other a more modern smartphone, report the Washington Post, the New York Times…

Jan 21, 2014 5:28 PM CST

Obama announces curbs on phone data collection

President Obama on Friday announced he is planning a “new approach” for the bulk collection and handling of phone records, part of a series of new privacy protections to be implemented after leaks by Edward Snowden about the National Security Agency’s surveillance program. Obama said he planned to end the…

Jan 17, 2014 5:31 PM CST

Husband sues hospital to force it to take his brain-dead, pregnant wife off life support

A Texas paramedic has sued a Fort Worth hospital in an effort to get a court order requiring it to remove the body of his pregnant wife from life support. Marlise Munoz, who also is a paramedic, was found unconscious Nov. 26. Her husband, Erick Munoz, says in the suit…

Jan 14, 2014 9:30 PM CST

As Target data breach reaches 70 million customers, state AGs investigate

Corrected: Attorneys general in Massachusetts and New York announced Friday that they with other states are investigating the Target Corp. data breach, which resulted in millions of consumers having personal data stolen by cyber criminals. The Connecticut attorney general’s office is also investigating the security breach, Reuters reports. “We are…

Jan 10, 2014 8:00 PM CST

Justice Department legal opinion on call records is protected from disclosure, DC Circuit rules

A federal appeals court has ruled against the Electronic Frontier Foundation in its fight for a legal opinion by the Justice Department that said phone companies may voluntarily give call records to the FBI. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said the Jan. 8, 2010, opinion by…

Jan 3, 2014 7:56 PM CST

Google Glass brings out the technophobes—and the lawyers

Jan 1, 2014 7:30 AM CST

Most important legal stories in 2013

Perhaps the best way to understand the biggest legal events in 2013 is to hit ABAJournal.com. Events from the past played a heavy influence on some of the year’s biggest legal stories. Civil rights groups recoiled in horror when the U.S. Supreme Court all but obliterated a seminal law in…

Dec 26, 2013 7:15 PM CST

Law prof’s quest for bar data to study racial preferences gets boost from California supremes

A law professor studying the impact of affirmative action has won a California Supreme Court victory in his quest to get the state bar to release records about bar applicants, including their exam scores, law school grade averages, and race or ethnicity. The California Supreme Court ruled (PDF) Thursday that…

Dec 20, 2013 3:41 PM CST

‘Testosterone-laden’ cops ogled city attorney’s driver’s license, claim says; city settles

A notice-of-claim letter written on behalf of Minneapolis assistant city attorney Paula Kruchowski apparently proved persuasive. According to the letter, more than a hundred police officers ogled Kruchowski’s driver’s license photo by accessing an online database, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Kruchowski is liaison to the police domestic-assault unit for…

Dec 19, 2013 1:41 PM CST