Privacy Law

Wrongly labeled a porn star by DJs, former 1L is awarded $1M in suit against radio station

A former law student at the University of Kansas has been awarded $1 million in a suit against a radio station asserting its DJs wrongly labeled her as a porn star. Federal jurors on Friday ordered radio station owner Entercom Kansas City to pay the plaintiff, Ashley Patton, $250,000 in…

Sep 30, 2014 7:17 AM CDT

Misidentified as a porn star by DJs, former 1L testifies against radio station in privacy suit

A former law student testified on Thursday that she still struggles with anxiety more than two years after two Kansas City radio personalities wrongly labeled her a porn star on their morning radio show. Ashley Patton was a 1L when her name was broadcast on KRBZ 96.5 FM in April…

Sep 26, 2014 7:59 AM CDT

Lawyer accused of taping sex with underage girl gets probation; plea agreement bars press release

A Tennessee lawyer initially accused of paying a 14-year-old girl for sex and taping the encounters has been sentenced to probation in a case that made the news despite a ban on press releases. Kent Booher, 59, of Harriman, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to statutory rape in a plea deal on…

Sep 24, 2014 7:11 AM CDT

NCIS trolling for child porn offenders violates Posse Comitatus regulations, 9th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has tossed evidence of child pornography because it was obtained as a result of a broad online investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, violating policies and regulations banning military enforcement of civilian laws. The Sept. 12 ruling by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court…

Sep 22, 2014 9:11 AM CDT

Fired John Doe prosecutor can remain anonymous in suit against Justice Department, judge rules

A federal prosecutor who claims he was wrongly fired because of an anxiety disorder can keep his name a secret in his lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said the John Doe plaintiff could have trouble doing his job…

Sep 11, 2014 5:45 AM CDT

Will Illinois become the sixth state to allow granny cams in nursing homes?

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is backing legislation that would allow families to place recording devices in nursing homes to monitor treatment of their loved ones. Madigan says the bill would require consent from nursing home residents being recorded as well as from their roommates, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago…

Sep 9, 2014 2:03 PM CDT

Twitter must reveal user info after posted photo leads to charges against wrong man, judge says

Who framed Lemon Juice? That is the issue in a lawsuit filed by a New York man named Lemon Juice who claims a Twitter user opened an account in his name and posted a photo of a 12-year-old sexual assault victim who testified against a rabbi. Juice’s lawyer, Solomon Antar,…

Sep 5, 2014 5:45 AM CDT

Federal medical-privacy law frustrates ID theft victims

Linda Weaver had two good feet when she opened her mailbox one day in 2005. So she was surprised to find a bill for the amputation of her right foot. Weaver, who runs a horse farm in Florida, soon discovered that it wasn’t just a mix-up. According to the Los…

Sep 1, 2014 9:10 AM CDT

NSA surveillance policies raise questions about the viability of the attorney-client privilege

Press reports earlier this year indicating that communications between at least one U.S. law firm and a foreign government had been monitored by the Australian equivalent of the U.S. National Security Agency triggered a series of diplomatic exchanges between the ABA and the NSA, focusing on the extent to which…

Sep 1, 2014 8:49 AM CDT

After prosecutor’s live courtroom feed is disclosed, judges consider expanding viewing areas

After disclosure of a live courtroom video feed to the prosecutor’s office in Warren County, Ohio, judges are considering expanding the program to include more remote-viewing locations. Judges are considering adding viewing areas in the attorney waiting area and the law library, the Dayton Daily News reports. Administrative Judge Donald…

Aug 28, 2014 2:01 PM CDT

Online petition urges Michael Brown law requiring cops to wear cameras; what about privacy concerns?

In less than a week’s time, more than 100,000 people have signed an online petition calling for a “Mike Brown law” that would require state and local police to wear cameras. The potential law is named for Michael Brown, the unarmed man fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson,…

Aug 21, 2014 12:11 PM CDT

TV station posted interrogation video with Social Security number, says lawyer who plans lawsuit

The South Carolina woman accused of leaving her 9-year-old daughter in a park while she worked at McDonald’s is planning a lawsuit against a TV station that posted her interrogation video without editing out her Social Security number, according to her lawyer. Debra Harrell was charged on July 1 with…

Aug 20, 2014 3:18 PM CDT

Arrest records linger in FBI database and websites; acquitted law student sees consequences

Getting arrested doesn’t necessarily result in conviction or even prosecution. But arrest records in an FBI master criminal database aren’t always updated with the disposition, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. And individuals trying to find proof of dropped charges can hit roadblocks when the cases are old and…

Aug 19, 2014 7:34 PM CDT

Federal suit claims family members were banned from mom’s nursing home over social media posts

The children of a patient in a nursing home in Sugar Land, Texas, have sued the facility, alleging that they can’t visit their mother there because they have been banned over their social media posts. The plaintiffs say Silverado Senior Living had no valid reason for the ban, which was…

Aug 19, 2014 4:40 PM CDT

Judge says he had no obligation to disclose prosecutor’s live feed of court hearings

A judge in Warren County, Ohio, is defending his decision to allow a live camera and audio feed of hearings and trials to be piped into the prosecutor’s office. Judge James Flannery said judges had no obligation to tell lawyers about prosecutor David Fornshell’s cameras; instead it was up to…

Aug 15, 2014 1:07 PM CDT