Author archives

Federal Appellate Court Strikes Potential Death Blow to Privacy in New Cell Site Location Information Case

Via EFF – “This week, the full Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals—in a decision that impacts residents in Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia—held that you have no expectation of privacy in historical location data generated by your cell phone. This decision, which follows decisions from four other federal appellate courts, means …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

CRS – Who Is a “Veteran”? — Basic Eligibility for Veterans’ Benefits,

Via FAS – Who Is a “Veteran”? — Basic Eligibility for Veterans’ Benefits, Scott D. Szymendera, Analyst in Disability Policy. May 25, 2016. “The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers a broad range of benefits to U.S. Armed Forces veterans and certain members of their families. Among these benefits are various types of financial …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Economy, Education, Financial System, Government Documents, Health Care, Legislation

New on LLRX – Should Colorado court documents be free on public library computers?

Via LLRX.com – Should Colorado court documents be free on public library computers? – Jeff Roberts of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition raises the question of expanding free public access to court documents in Colorado. Specifically, he identifies the only location where a non-lawyer can view and request copies of all civil court documents …

Subjects: Courts, E-Government, E-Records, Government Documents, Legal Research, Libraries

OSHA Rule Makes Workplace Injury and Illness Data Publicly Available

Via FAS – CRS Reports & Analysis Legal Sidebar – OSHA Rule Makes Workplace Injury and Illness Data Publicly Available: “On May 11, 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a final rule that will make the data that certain employers collect on workplace injuries and illnesses publicly available. The rule does not …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

European Commission and IT Companies announce Code of Conduct on illegal online hate speech

Brussels, 31 May 2016 – “The Commission together with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft (“the IT companies”) today unveil a code of conduct that includes a series of commitments to combat the spread of illegal hate speech online in Europe. The IT Companies support the European Commission and EU Member States in the effort to …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, EU Data Protection, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy

OCCRP Launches New Search Engine for Investigative Journalists

Via Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project – “The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a non-profit network of investigative journalism centers in Europe and Eurasia, has launched a new data platform to enable journalists and researchers to sift more than 2 million documents and use the findings in their investigations. People using the …

Subjects: Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines

Financial Secrecy Index – 2015 Results

Via the Tax Justice Network – “The 2015 Financial Secrecy Index (FSI) focuses on 93 jurisdictions, including several that are not traditionally considered to be tax havens, such as China, France, Germany and Japan. Secrecy jurisdictions set up laws and systems which provide legal and financial secrecy to others, elsewhere. Our index shows that there …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

New on LLRX – Law Firm Libraries Cannot Simply Be A Service…It Must Be A Strategic Partner

Via LLRX.com – Law Firm Libraries Cannot Simply Be A Service…It Must Be A Strategic Partner Greg Lambert speaks to fellow Law Librarians, Knowledge Managers and law firm info pros from a pro-active position as he addresses the increasingly prevalent issue of outsourcing critical librarian staff. Institutional knowledge, excellent communications skills, teaching and training competency, …

Subjects: Economy, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries, Marketing

The Urban Agenda for the EU: European cities get their say in EU policy making

News release: “Today, the informal Ministerial meeting on urban matters agreed on the “Pact of Amsterdam”, which sets out the principles of the Urban Agenda for the EU. Today, the Commission is taking part in the informal meeting in Amsterdam of the 28 Ministers in charge of urban matters, along with representatives from other EU …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Economy, Environmental Law, Financial System, Government Documents, Housing, Legal Research, Poverty, Transportation