Category «Civil Liberties»

Joint 60 Minutes-Washington Post Report on Discredited Comparative Bullet-Lead Analysis

“Hundreds of defendants sitting in prisons nationwide have been convicted with the help of an FBI forensic tool that was discarded more than two years ago. But the FBI lab has yet to take steps to alert the affected defendants or courts, even as the window for appealing convictions is closing, a joint investigation by …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Government Documents, Legal Research

Speech by Deputy Director of National Intelligence Calls for New View of Privacy

AP: “Privacy no longer can mean anonymity, says Donald Kerr, the principal deputy director of national intelligence. Instead, it should mean that government and businesses properly safeguard people’s private communications and financial information…Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation…said Kerr ignores the distinction between sacrificing protection from an intrusive government and …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Patriot Act, Privacy

New GAO Reports on Military Personnel and Terrorist Watch List Screening

Military Personnel: Federal Agencies Have Taken Actions to Address Servicemembers’ Employment Rights, but a Single Entity Needs to Maintain Visibility to Improve Focus on Overall Program Results, GAO-08-254T, November 08, 2007 Terrorist Watch List Screening: Recommendations to Promote a Comprehensive and Coordinated Approach to Terrorist-Related Screening, GAO-08-253T, November 08, 2007. Related posting: Complaints Mount as …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Government Documents, Privacy

Judiciary Committee Chairman Renews Request For White House Legal Documents On Torture

Press release: “In a letter sent Wednesday to White House Counsel Fred Fielding, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) again requested legal memoranda outlining the White House’s justifications and policies on torture and interrogation. Such documents have long been requested but not provided. The New York Times recently reported on two secret 2005 memoranda …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Legal Research

Senate Hearing: The Role of Local Law Enforcement in Countering Violent Islamist Extremism

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing, The Role of Local Law Enforcement in Countering Violent Islamist Extremism, October 30, 2007. Link to Member Statements and witness testimony All Things Considered, November 9, 2007: “The Los Angeles Police Department is defending a plan to map Muslim communities in the city. Some critics are …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Government, Privacy

New on LLRX.com for October 2007

Cultural Challenges in Cross Border Mediation, by Vikrant Singh Negi Persuading Judges in Writing: Tips for Lawyers (And how technology can help), by Troy Simpson Competitive Intelligence on a Shoestring, by Susan Armstrong and Sabrina I. Pacifici E-Discovery Update: Discovery of Employee-Owned Computer Equipment, by Conrad J. Jacoby The Government Domain: Journalists and Government Information: …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Patriot Act, Privacy, Recommended Books

ABA Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project

American Bar Assocation Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project releases the Pennsylvania Death Penalty Report, October 28, 2007. Related documents are as follows: Executive Summary of the Pennsylvania Death Penalty Report Full Pennsylvania Death Penalty Assessment Report Pennsylvania Death Penalty Assessment Guide Pennsylvania Death Penalty Assesment Team Biographies Fact Sheet: Problems with Pennsylvania’s Death Penalty System …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Legal Research

Judiciary Committee Releases Questions To AG Nominee Mukasey

Follow up to previous postings on the nomination of Michael B. Mukasey to be Attorney General, today’s press release provides additional documents: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Friday released written questions and correspondence submitted for the record to Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey. Consistent with standard committee practice, Senators were given a week …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, E-Government, Government Documents

Senate Intelligence Committee Passed Legislation to Modernize FISA

Press release, October 18, 2007: “Senator Jay Rockefeller and Senator Kit Bond, Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee…announced that the Senate Intelligence Committee passed legislation to modernize FISA. The bill, which passed by a strong bipartisan vote, will improve the recently enacted Protect America Act that aimed to fix collection problems related …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Legislation, Patriot Act, Privacy

Telecommunications Companies Respond to Committee Inquiry into NSA Wiretapping Program Participation

Press release: “Three telecommunications companies have provided responses to inquiries by the Committee on Energy and Commerce about their involvement with the National Security Agency warrantless wiretapping program. On October 2, Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, and Rep. …

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

ACLU: Hundreds of New Documents Reveal Expanded Military Role in Domestic Surveillance

Press release: “New documents uncovered as a result of an American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union lawsuit reveal that the Department of Defense secretly issued hundreds of national security letters (NSLs) to obtain private and sensitive records of people within the United States without court approval. A comprehensive analysis of 455 …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Government Documents