Category «Courts»

In Tied Presidential Race, Harris and Trump Have Contrasting Strengths, Weaknesses

“Ahead of the scheduled Sept. 10 presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the presidential race is deadlocked. About half of registered voters (49%) say if the election were held today, they would vote for Harris, while an identical share say they would back Trump. With less than two months …

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

Ginni Thomas Privately Praised Group Working Against Supreme Court Reform

ProPublica – “Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, privately heaped praise on a major religious-rights group for fighting efforts to reform the nation’s highest court — efforts sparked, in large part, by her husband’s ethical lapses. Thomas expressed her appreciation in an email sent to Kelly Shackelford, an influential litigator whose …

Subjects: Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

Amicus: Judge Aileen Cannon must be reassigned in Trump case

“Judge Aileen Cannon should be reassigned in the federal classified documents case against former President Donald Trump if the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reverses and remands her decision, according to an amicus brief filed today on behalf of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, former United States district judge Nancy Gertner, New York …

Subjects: Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

U.S. Charges Hamas Leaders in Oct. 7 Massacre in Israel and Other Terrorist Attacks

The New York Times [this is a free link] -Federal prosecutors charged Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, and five senior members of the group with planning and carrying out years of terrorist attacks in Israel, including the Oct. 7 massacre, according to a sweeping complaint unsealed on Tuesday. The criminal complaint, originally filed in …

Subjects: Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

Here’s 22 Examples of Google Employees Trying to Avoid Creating Evidence for Court

Court Watch – This article was produced in collaboration with 404 Media, a new independent technology investigations site. By Jason Koebler “In its antitrust case against Google, the Federal Government filed a list of chats it had obtained that show Google employees explicitly asking each other to turn off a chat history feature to discuss …

Subjects: Courts, Internet, Legal Research

Your State-by-State Guide to the 2024 Supreme Court Elections

BOLTS – “Voters this year are deciding the fate of 82 seats across 33 states’ high courts. Cases involving abortion, democracy, and other critical issues hang in the balance. The Texas supreme court closed out 2023 by blocking an abortion during a medical emergency, forcing a woman to flee the state. Just days before Christmas, …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

Major Publishers Sue Florida Over Banned School Library Books

“Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, and Sourcebooks have filed a lawsuit against Florida public officials, challenging sweeping book removal provisions of HB 1069, an education law that restricts books in school libraries. The additional plaintiffs joining the publishers are the Authors Guild, bestselling authors Julia Alvarez, Laurie …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Courts, Education, Legal Research, Legislation

Jack Smith attempts to immunity-proof his January 6 Trump indictment. Mostly.

Law Dork: “Donald Trump was indicted again on Tuesday, a superseding indictment in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of the former president for his actions seeking to overturn the 2020 election. The superseding indictment in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., was Smith’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s July decision holding that former presidents …

Subjects: Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

Field Guide to Police Surveillance

“Welcome to the Field Guide to Police Surveillance. EFF’s Street-Level Surveillance project shines a light on the surveillance technologies that law enforcement agencies routinely deploy in our communities. These resources are designed for advocacy organizations, journalists, defense attorneys, policymakers, and members of the public who often are not getting the straight story from police representatives …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Courts, Free Speech, Legal Research, Privacy

What Happens If Election Officials Refuse to Certify Results?

Democracy Docket on YouTube: “With reports of pro-Trump election officials gearing up to refuse to certify results should Trump lose, the certification process has become a major concern among voters as we heard toward the upcoming election. Sophie Feldman explains how the certification process works and what happens if election officials refuse to certify.”

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research

Etsy for Guns?

Court Watch: A 3D Etsy print shop sells ghost gun parts. “When we think about products typically sold on Etsy, it conjures up images of lovely espresso martini scented candles or maybe even drink coasters you can customize as mini vinyl records with your favorite album covers. After all, Etsy describes itself as “the global …

Subjects: Courts, E-Commerce, Legal Research

Has your paper been used to train an AI model? Almost certainly

Nature – Artificial-intelligence developers are buying access to valuable data sets that contain research papers — raising uncomfortable questions about copyright. “Academic publishers are selling access to research papers to technology firms to train artificial-intelligence (AI) models. Some researchers have reacted with dismay at such deals happening without the consultation of authors. The trend is …

Subjects: AI, Copyright, Courts, E-Records, Education, Intellectual Property, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research