Legal links of interest for the week ending June 7, 2013

Some of the stories about courts, the law and lawyers in the news this past week:

City's red light camera program may be challenged in court: lawsuit claims program denies constitutional right to due process.

When court takes up privacy, Scalia finds himself with unlikely teammates: Scalia, with those three liberal justices joining him, said that DNA sampling constitutes an impermissible search under the Fourth Amendment.

New York's Court of Appeals asked to hear fracking home rule cases: Attorneys for Norse Energy and an Otsego County farmer made the filing, asking the state’s highest court to take on the cases of upstate towns that changed their zoning laws in 2011 to ban hydrofracking and gas drilling

Ohio prosecutor fired after posing as an accused killer's girlfriend on Facebook: A prosecutor in Ohio has reportedly been fired after admitting to a chat with an accused killer’s alibi witnesses in an attempt to persuade them to change their testimony.

Judge's ruling challenges US transplant system: a federal judge has allowed one dying child - and a day later another - to essentially jump the line in rulings that could have ramifications for thousands of people awaiting new organs.

How the IRS scandal may damage anti-terror data mining: A Cornell law professor argues that explanations and justifications which might have worked in the past no longer are enough, thanks to the IRS.

Legal links of interest for the week ending March 22, 2013

Some of the stories about courts, the law and lawyers in the news this past week:

·         Study on wrongful convictions finds prosecutorial misconduct and weak defense play a significant role: The report may be useful to practitioners to help understand how these factors come into play and how to ameliorate or alleviate them
 ·         Russia slams Texas prosecutors for not charging parents of dead adopted boy: A Texas coroner had declared the child’s death in January accidental, but Moscow demanded a complete report from U.S. officials.
 ·         Congressman objects to Seneca-Cayuga land-into-trust bid:  Rep. Tom Reed (R), Seneca County’s representative in Congress opposes the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma’s application to put 230 acres of land it owns in Seneca and Cayuga counties into federal trust.
 ·         Public Access Guide to NY Courts available:  The Guide contains an application for the media when they seek to conduct coverage of court proceedings and will be available at all court clerks’ offices in the District and available at security posts on each floor of the Hall of Justice in Rochester, NY.
 ·         Red-light camera firms get heat over tickets: Legal challenges, public outcry not slowing industry growth
 ·         Stricter laws due in July to govern underage kids on social media: Sites such as Facebook will likely be forced to remove photos, audio recordings or other personal identifiers of children -- or else face stiff fines, under updates to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act
 ·         Justices apply copyright first-sale doctrine to foreign goods: Libraries, museums, retailers and others who buy copyrighted goods made abroad can resell them without violating federal copyright law, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday.
 ·         Just how bad off are law school graduates?  There are a surprising number of job postings for lawyers that offer no salary at all, including government law jobs.

For more on each of these stories, click the links above.

Legal links of interest for the week ending January 25, 2013

Some of the stories about courts, the law and lawyers in the news this past week:

• Court strikes down Obama recess appointments: The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that President Obama’s appointment of three NLRB members was unconstitutional because Obama claimed them as recess appointments when the Senate was not in recess.
• Debt collectors posing as Facebook friends: Some collectors masquerade as friendly personalities to catch an alleged debtor’s attention.
• Sheriffs raise concerns about NY’s new gun law: Some sheriffs said the law takes positive steps to address mental health issues and access to illegal guns, but they said it also infringes on Second Amendment rights,
• Important IRS deadline for small businesses is just daysaway:  If your business paid any individual $600 or more in 2012, the IRS wants to know about it.
• Two sue Subway for 'short' footlong subs: Plaintiffs' lawyer says the company should either make their sandwiches 12 inches long or stop advertising them as footlongs.
• Reid, McConnell reach Senate filibuster deal: The agreement focuses on limiting the ability to stall action at the very beginning of debate and after a bill has passed the Senate and before negotiations begin with the House.
• Foes of New York City soda size limit doubt racial fairness:  The NAACP and the Hispanic Federation, a network of 100 northeastern groups, say minority-owned delis and corner stores will end up at a disadvantage compared to grocery chains. 
• Facebook $20 million “sponsored stories” class-action settlement could mean $10 for users:
  The lawsuit alleges that Facebook “unlawfully used the names, profile pictures, photographs, likenesses, and identities of Facebook users in the United States to advertise or sell products and services through Sponsored Stories without obtaining those users’ consent.”

For more on each of these stories, click the links above.

Study: 13 million Facebook users aren't protecting their privacy

According to a new study by Consumer Reports, approximately 13 million Facebook users in the United States either ignore, don’t know how to use, or aren't aware of Facebook’s privacy settings.

Furthermore, the study notes, many popular apps collect and expose personal data to developers and people outside of a user's social group.

As a result, these users are exposing themselves to potential scams. Still other users were denied insurance benefits or turned down for jobs or college admissions because of information publicly available through the social network.

The magazine lists varying ways to protect your privacy on Facebook by adjusting privacy settings.

Consumer Reports also reminds people to "assume anything you do on Facebook can be seen by all of your friends, your mom, your great-great-grandchildren, your employer, health insurer, and the government.”

Texas Man Kicked Off Jury For Trying To 'Friend' Defendant

AOL News:

A North Texas juror got an unfriendly reaction from a judge after he tried to 'friend' the defendant on Facebook....

Jonathan Hudson pled guilty to four counts of contempt of court as a result of his actions, which his lawyer described as a "silly mistake"....

In 2009, the New York Times wrote a piece about the ways in which the Internet has contributed to a several mistrials across the country.