Medical Photos May Be Posted Online with Patient Names, Says Lawyer for 8 Ex-Patients of Mo. Doctor

Ten women who reportedly agreed to let a St. Louis plastic surgeon put before-and-after photos of their augmented breasts on the Internet are now suing in federal court there, contending that Dr. Michele Koo violated their privacy by linking their names to the photos, which otherwise would not have been…

Aug 14, 2012 7:57 PM CDT

Federal Judge in Florida OKs Red-Light Ticket Info Release, Says Legal Proceeding Record Is Public

A federal judge in Florida says a contractor hired by the city of Tallahassee must disclose red-light-camera traffic ticket information to a newspaper that requested it, despite an arguable conflict between state public records law and a federal statute that protects the privacy of drivers. Fearing potential penalties for violating…

Aug 14, 2012 5:00 PM CDT

Prosecutor Loses $129K Job, Is Accused of Creating Hostile Work Environment via ‘Spy Pen’ Photos

A longtime Connecticut prosecutor accused of creating a hostile work environment for female colleagues and court workers by secretly videotaping their legs with a “spy pen” in and around court and at his office was fired Friday from his $129,000-a-year job. Senior Assistant Danbury State’s Attorney David Holzbach, 52, had…

Aug 9, 2012 8:44 PM CDT

Google Fined Record $22.5M by FTC re Claimed Safari Privacy Violations on Macs, iPhones and iPads

Google Inc. has agreed to pay a record $22.5 million fine to the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly overriding privacy settings on Apple computer users’ Safari browsers in order to track individuals’ Web-surfing behavior. The fine is both the first ever assessed by the FTC for an Internet privacy violation…

Aug 9, 2012 4:34 PM CDT

9th Circuit Overturns Ruling Awarding Fees in Wiretap Case by Islamic Charity

A federal appeals court has overturned an award of $2.5 million in attorney fees and nearly $41,000 in damages to two lawyers for an Islamic charity who alleged their conversations were illegally wiretapped by the government. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the government was protected…

Aug 9, 2012 3:18 PM CDT

En Banc 7th Circuit Says Parking Tickets May Violate Privacy Statute; Posner Predicts Scofflaw Suits

A federal statute enacted after a California actress was murdered by a stalker who got her address from state motor vehicle records also applies to parking tickets, a federal appeals court has ruled. In an en banc decision (PDF) on Monday, the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed…

Aug 8, 2012 7:10 PM CDT

Tennessee Appellate Court Dismisses Judge’s Defamation Claims; Allows False Light Issue to Proceed

Corrected: A Tennessee judge, the subject of television news broadcasts that the judge said suggested he may have lied to the Justice Department in regards to a Mental Health Court grant and suggested he could be facing an ethics investigation, was not defamed by the pieces, the state appellate court…

Aug 7, 2012 6:55 PM CDT

US Marshal Shares Steps Lawyers and Judges Can Take to Improve Personal Security

You might have an unlisted phone number, eschew social media and never post photos online, but those steps alone don’t guarantee safety if a disgruntled litigant wants to find and hurt you or your family, a U.S. Marshal told a group of judges and lawyers Saturday. Speaking on an annual…

Aug 5, 2012 12:43 PM CDT

Pass It on: Secrecy Is a Thing of the Past

Corrected: The digital revolution has rendered secrecy largely a thing of the past for governments and the business community, said speakers Saturday at an ABA Annual Meeting program marking the 50th anniversary of the Standing Committee on Law and National Security. “We have to recognize that we cannot keep secrets…

Aug 4, 2012 6:05 PM CDT

9th Circuit Temporarily Blocks Arizona Abortion Law

A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked enforcement of a controversial new Arizona law that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. On Wednesday, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted (PDF) a request by opponents of the new law to temporarily halt enforcement of…

Aug 2, 2012 10:12 PM CDT

Kansas City Police Say 7M License Plate Shots Showing Date, Time and Location Are a Public Record

In the wake of an American Civil Liberties Union campaign launched this week to determine how much information from automatic vehicle license plate readers is being stored by law enforcement agencies nationally and how the database is being used, police statistics are starting to hit the headlines. In Kansas City,…

Aug 2, 2012 4:32 PM CDT

Twitter General Counsel Acknowledges ‘Mess Up’ in Reporter’s Banishment

Twitter has done an about-face and reinstated the account of a reporter kicked off the website for tweeting the corporate email address of an NBC executive. Twitter and NBC are partnering to share Olympics coverage, the New York Times report at its Media Decoder blog. Twitter suspended the email account…

Aug 1, 2012 3:35 PM CDT

Netflix Notifies Customers of Class Action Settlement; Privacy Groups Will Benefit

Netflix is sending an email to customers notifying them of a $9 million settlement that will benefit nonprofit privacy groups. As part of the settlement, Netflix has agreed to change its data retention policies so it will no longer link customers with their rental histories after one year of canceled…

Aug 1, 2012 2:58 PM CDT

ACLU Asks Law Enforcement Agencies to Explain How Automatic License Plate Reader Data Is Used

The American Civil Liberties Union asked police agencies throughout the country on Monday to provide information about how data from automatic license plate readers in patrol cars and next to roadways is being used. Similar information requests were made by the national ACLU and individual chapters in more than 35…

Aug 1, 2012 1:00 PM CDT

Crashing the Third Party: Experts Weigh How Far the Government Can Go in Reading Your Email

Aug 1, 2012 9:29 AM CDT