Category «Civil Liberties»

Security Experts: EPIC Correct About Body Scanners-Invasive and Ineffective

“The first independent analysis of backscatter x-ray body scanners corroborate the claims EPIC and others have made for several years: The scanners are invasive and ineffective. In a detailed report published in 2005, EPIC warned that the x-ray body scanners amounted to a virtual strip search and were an ineffective means of airport security. Freedom of Information Act documents later obtained …

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

Preliminary Draft of Proposed Amendments Federal Rules of Appellate, Bankruptcy, Civil, and Criminal Procedure

“On August 15, 2014, the public comment period opens for proposed amendments to: Appellate Rules 4, 5, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28.1, 29, 32, 35, and 40, and Forms 1, 5, 6, and New Form 7; Bankruptcy Rules 1010, 1011, 2002, 3002, 3002.1, 3007, 3012, 3015, 4003, 5009, 7001, 9006, and 9009, and New Rule …

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

Criminal Justice Act: At 50 Years, a Landmark in the Right to Counsel

US Courts news release: “August 20, 1964—the President signed into law the Criminal Justice Act (CJA), which for the first time assured professional legal counsel in federal courts by paying an hourly fee for court appointed lawyers. Six years later, Congress established a full-time federal defender service within the judicial branch. Together, the measures created the …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research

Newly Declassified Documents Regarding Now-Discontinued NSA Bulk Electronic Communications Metadata

ODNI: “Following a declassification review by the Executive Branch, the Department of Justice released on August 6, 2014, in redacted form, 38 documents relating to the now-discontinued NSA program [scroll down the page to locate the links] to collect bulk electronic communications metadata pursuant to Section 402 of the FISA (“PRTT provision”).  These documents are also responsive …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Government Documents, Internet, Patriot Act, Privacy

New on LLRX – Case Law in an Era of Heightened Scrutiny

Via LLRX.com – Case Law in an Era of Heightened Scrutiny – Ken Strutin’s documents the scope of sources that encompass a critical issue that has recently repeatedly surfaced in mass media and the legal press – the fact that judicial decisions are believed to embody legal reasoning, societal values and support the foundations of our legal system. For …

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

ABA Draft Report on Stand Your Ground Laws

American Bar Association National Task Force on Stand Your Ground Laws, Preliminary Report and Recommendations, August 8, 2014. “This report represents the culmination of the Task Force’s analysis of a substantial compilation of information: testimony from experts and stakeholders received at five regional hearings, extensive legal research on each jurisdiction’s self-defense regime, quantitative assessments of …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research

Cell Phone Guide For US Protesters, Updated 2014 Edition

EFF: “With major protests in the news again, we decided it’s time to update our cell phone guide for protestors. A lot has changed since we last published this report in 2011, for better and for worse. On the one hand, we’ve learned more about the massive volume of law enforcement requests for cell phone—ranging from location information …

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

Defense Department military equipment distributed free to states around the country

New York Times – “Most U.S. counties have received at least some military equipment through a free Pentagon surplus program.” See also Tools of War in Counties Across the U.S. – “State and local police departments, like the one in Ferguson, Mo., get some of their military-style equipment through a free Defense Department program created in the early 1990s. Below …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Defense, Economy, Legal Research

Report: British spy agency scanned for vulnerable systems in 32 countries

PCWorld via Mikael Ricknäs: “British intelligence agency GCHQ used port scanning as part of the “Hacienda” program to find vulnerable systems it and other agencies could compromise across at least 27 countries, German news site Heise Online has revealed. The use of so-called port scanning has long been a trusty tool used by hackers to find systems they …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Defense, E-Government, Government Documents, Internet, PC Security, Privacy

Help Celebrate 103rd birthday of Eldest Surviving Civil Rights Activist, Amelia Boynton­ Robinson

Aug. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ – “Amelia Boynton ­Robinson, the oldest of the surviving veterans of the 1965 Selma, Alabama Civil Rights Movement, will celebrate her 103 birthday this coming August 18. Still completely mentally alert and combative, Boynton­Robinson states that not only does she intend to attend the 50th anniversary commemoration of the passage of the Voting …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation

Extensive interview of Edward Snowden – Wired

James Bamford, via Wired: “..Snowden will continue to haunt the US, the unpredictable impact of his actions resonating at home and around the world. The documents themselves, however, are out of his control. Snowden no longer has access to them; he says he didn’t bring them with him to Russia. Copies are now in the hands …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Defense, E-Government, Government Documents, Patriot Act, Privacy

NSA’s Internet Metadata Program Was Sharply Criticized By FISA Judges – EPIC

“Documents Obtained by EPIC Lawsuit Show NSA’s Internet Metadata Program Was Sharply Criticized By FISA Judges While Congressional Oversight Lagged for Year: In a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Justice, EPIC has obtained many documents about the NSA’s Internet Metadata program. These include the Government’s original FISA application seeking authorization to collect data from millions of e-mails, as well …

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