Category «Civil Liberties»

CRS: Court-Ordered Access to Smart Phones: In Brief

Court-Ordered Access to Smart Phones: In Brief – Kristin Finklea, Specialist in Domestic Security; Richard M. Thompson II, Legislative Attorney; Chris Jaikaran, Analyst in Cybersecurity Policy. February 23, 2016. “The tension between the benefits and challenges of encryption has been an issue for law enforcement and policy makers since the 1990s, and was reinvigorated in …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Mail, E-Records, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

The Death of Justice Scalia: Procedural Issues Arising on an Eight-Member Supreme Court

CRS report via FAS – The Death of Justice Scalia: Procedural Issues Arising on an Eight-Member Supreme Court – Andrew Nolan, Legislative Attorney, February 25, 2016. “On February 13, 2016, Justice Antonin Scalia unexpectedly passed away at the age of 79, vacating a seat on the Supreme Court that he had held for nearly 30 …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy

New on LLRX – Cognitive Reality and the Administration of Justice

Via LLRX.com – Cognitive Reality and the Administration of Justice – Ken Strutin writes in his latest article as follows, “science has much to say about how individual behavior and group wide phenomena influence the core issues of criminal justice. From self-incrimination to self-representation, from prosecuting to judging, from trial to punishment the law recognizes …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

NY Judge issues ruling in drug case involving unlocking iPhone

EFF: “Apple cannot be compelled to bypass the lock screen on an iPhone seized by the government in a New York drug case, according an order issued today by magistrate Judge James Orenstein. It’s a significant rejection of the government’s interpretation of the All Writs Act, which prosecutors have advanced in multiple jurisdictions across the …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Legal Research, Privacy

Demographic and Economic Profiles of States Holding March 5 Primaries and Caucuses

“In advance of the March 5 primaries and caucuses, the U.S. Census Bureau presents a variety of statistics that give an overall profile of each participating state’s voting-age population and industries. Statistics include: Voting-age population and estimate of eligible voters (i.e., citizens age 18 and older). Breakdown of voting-age population by race and Hispanic origin. …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Economy, Government Documents

GAO Reports – Credit Reform, Federal Health Care Center, Immigration Detention, Federal Vehicles

Credit Reform: Current Method to Estimate Credit Subsidy Costs Is More Appropriate for Budget Estimates Than a Fair Value Approach, GAO-16-41: Published: Jan 29, 2016. Publicly Released: Feb 29, 2016. Federal Health Care Center: VA and DOD Need to Address Ongoing Difficulties and Better Prepare for Future Integrations, GAO-16-280: Published: Feb 29, 2016. Publicly Released: …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Transportation

Report tracks status of Open Government Partnership

Civil Society Report on Implementation of the Second US National Action Plan, February 2016: “This report provides an assessment of the progress made on the United States’ Second National Action Plan for the Open Government Partnership (OGP), spanning the period from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015. It encompasses the evaluations from civil society …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Report on the Status of Undergraduate Women at MIT, February 2016

“The purpose of this report is to provide an extensive overview on the status of undergraduate women at MIT. The findings are supported by data from the MIT Office of Institutional Research, focus groups, and the Undergraduate Experience Survey, a survey implemented specifically for this report. We hope that the findings of this report and its recommendations …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Education, Knowledge Management

Absence of Equality and Human Dignity Values Makes American Sentencing Systems Fundamentally Different from Those in Other Western Countries

Tonry, Michael, The Absence of Equality and Human Dignity Values Makes American Sentencing Systems Fundamentally Different from Those in Other Western Countries (February 23, 2016). 45 Crime & Justice, 2016; Minnesota Legal Studies Research Paper No. 16-08. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2736961 “Concern for equality and human dignity is largely absent from American sentencing. …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Legal Research

Google – Protecting the world’s news from digital attack

Google Official Blog: “The web is an increasingly critical tool for news organizations, allowing them to communicate faster, research more easily, and disseminate their work to a global audience. Often it’s the primary distribution channel for critical, investigative work that shines a light into the darkest corners of society and the economy—the kind of reporting …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Free Speech, Internet

The Rosa Parks Collection is Now Online

“The Rosa Parks Collection at the Library of Congress has been digitized and is now online. The collection, which contains approximately 7,500 manuscripts and 2,500 photographs, is on loan to the Library for 10 years from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The Library received the materials in late 2014, formally opened them to researchers in …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Records, Education, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Libraries

Dept. of Energy Notice – Protection of Human Subjects in Classified Research

Via Steven Aftergood – Secrecy News – “The Department of Energy last month issued new guidance on the conduct of classified scientific research involving human subjects. While all human subject research is governed by federal regulations, the new DOE policy imposes several additional requirements whenever such research is to be performed on a classified basis. …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Defense, Energy, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research