Tag: written by Thalia
Shall we Try Again? COPA Ruled Unconstitutional
Thalia.
Posted to Legal on Fri Mar 23, 2007 at 08:56:55 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Congress' fourth attempt at regulating Internet porn because we need to "think of the children" has been ruled unconstitutional. COPA (Child Online Protection Act), a 1998 federal law that makes it a crime for commercial Web site operators to allow children access to "harmful" material was challenged almost immediately after it was passed. An injunction was issued almost immediately, and the law has never been enforced. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2004 upheld a temporary injunction the district court had issued early in the case that blocked the law from ever taking effect.
(20 comments, 245 words in story) Full Story
Let's Talk, Under Oath
Thalia.
Posted to Politics on Fri Mar 23, 2007 at 08:56:52 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Both the Senate and House committees have authorized subpoenas for the masterminds behind the firing of the U.S. Attorneys. The Bush White House is trying to make a deal. They have offered a no-oath, no-transcript "discussion" between a limited number of selected Congress critters and Rove and Miers. The Democrats so far aren't impressed.
(32 comments, 147 words in story) Full Story
Your Freedom or Your Life
Thalia.
Posted to Legal on Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 10:39:12 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
You may recall the case of Raich v. Ashcroft, the case decided by the Supreme Court 6-3, in which a woman having multiple severe medical problems was denied the right to grow and use marijuana. The case was remanded by the Supreme Court to the Ninth Circuit.
(44 comments, 281 words in story) Full Story
Privacy is For Sissies
Thalia.
Posted to Legal on Wed Feb 07, 2007 at 10:07:10 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
The 7th Circuit recently held (9 page PDF) that using GPS devices to track cars does not have any 4th Amendment (search & seizure) implications. There hasn't been much media reporting, although some blogs have addressed the implications.
(28 comments, 219 words in story) Full Story
War in Palestinian Territory
Thalia.
Posted to Politics on Sat Feb 03, 2007 at 08:18:12 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in internal violence since the Islamic militant Hamas, which rejects Israel's right to exist, won parliamentary elections last year and ousted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' more moderate Fatah movement from power. Hamas and Fatah have been trying to form a unity government for months. They are deadlocked over Hamas' rejection of international calls that it recognises Israel. As a result, Western donors have been withholding aid, resulting in a deep economic crisis in the Palestinian territories.
(47 comments, 244 words in story) Full Story
Getting Rid of Critics: US Attorneys Replaced
Thalia.
Posted to Legal on Mon Jan 22, 2007 at 08:23:47 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein recently lambasted the Bush administration for forcing several U.S. attorneys to step down from their posts. (partial transcript here) The U.S. attorneys are all Bush appointees that had been approved by the Senate. They are being replaced by political appointees, who will not have be approved by the Senate, or a District Judge. The Patriot Act changed the law, so that such appointments last until the end of the President's term, instead of 120 days.
(11 comments, 345 words in story) Full Story
Bush Flip-Flops on Warrantless Wiretaps
Thalia.
Posted to Legal on Fri Jan 19, 2007 at 10:50:07 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
As the Bush Administration has been losing in the courts pretty consistently, their current tactic is to try to remove jurisdiction from the court whenever they look like they're about to lose. The most recent attempt at this was the announcement that the controversial NSA wiretapping program, which the administration argued did not require court supervision, should be under under FISA's jurisdiction after all.
(5 comments, 130 words in story) Full Story
Keep Your ID Handy to Fly
Thalia.
Posted to Legal on Fri Jan 12, 2007 at 01:15:34 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
The US Supreme Court, without comment, just denied John Gilmore's request for cert. Just to refresh your memory, John Gilmore challenged the requirement for showing ID at the airport, and the bus, for travel on multiple grounds. In particular, he objected to having to follow a regulation that he could not actually view (the Security Directive specifying this regulation is secret), and claimed that it implicated his right to travel.
(14 comments, 260 words in story) Full Story
