Crime and punishment roundup
Some reps push to cut off federal funds for states with Stand Your Ground laws [Maguire, Just One Minute] Podcast and video of Cato’s panel discussion on SYG laws [and related from Tim Lynch]...
View ArticleLabor and employment law roundup
Gov. Walker’s public sector labor reforms popular with Wisconsin voters, and have saved taxpayers a fortune [Morrissey, Fund, Marquette poll (public favors new law by 50-43 margin] What would FDR say?...
View ArticleA paradox of privacy class actions
Privacy buffs usually prefer for business practices to be opt-in (consumers participate only if they affirmative choose to) rather than opt-out (consumers are bound unless they affirmatively choose to...
View ArticleLabor and employment roundup
“The extra UAW subsidies cost $26.5 billion… The Detroit auto bailout was, in fact, a UAW bailout.” [James Sherk and Todd Zywicki; Volokh] In 5-4 decision [Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham] Supreme...
View ArticleDrones overhead, snapping law-enforcement pics
We’re getting closer to that world very fast — and if you have Fourth Amendment qualms, maybe you’re the sort a drone-company exec responds to as follows: “If you’re concerned about it, maybe there’s a...
View ArticleCFPB recruits for “surveillance activities”
A recruitment ad for the newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeks investigators qualified to “establish and conduct surveillance activity to develop both intelligence and evidence...
View ArticleFeds’ scheme: have cops peer down into cars from overpasses
Politico quotes me on the latest harebrained idea from the U.S. Department of Transportation, known for Secretary Ray LaHood’s crusade against “distracted driving”: Olson called the idea that law...
View Article“Female Cop Gets $1 Million After Colleagues Trolled Database to Peek at Her...
No, these were not naughty pictures, they were driver’s license headshots. “The city’s liability could have been upwards of $565,000 because the statute provides $2,500 to be assessed per each unlawful...
View ArticleLabor and employment roundup
Labor/employment law: the last four years, and the next [Daniel Schwartz series: first, second, interview] “Some Thoughts on the Meaning of a Second Obama Term for Labor and Employment Law” [Paul...
View ArticleIP and technology roundup
“Conservatives awkwardly stumble toward tackling copyright” [Tim Carney, TechDirt, Cato forum last Thursday with Jerry Brito and Tom Bell, Mike Palmedo summary] Virginia Postrel on copyright reform...
View Article“Actress Loses Suit Against IMDb for Posting Age”
“A 41-year-old actress who claimed the Internet Movie Database unfairly disclosed her real age lost a case against the site this week after a federal jury in Seattle rejected her lawsuit.” [Mashable,...
View ArticleMay 2 roundup
Pigford and more: why do modern privacy laws so often redound to the benefit of those in power? [Stewart Baker] N.H. man who lost life savings at carnival game in exchange for dreadlocked banana...
View ArticleDriverless cars: a privacy/surveillance threat?
Randal O’Toole doesn’t share the concerns of Greg Beato and others. Tweet Tags: autos, Google, privacy, technology Driverless cars: a privacy/surveillance threat? is a post from Overlawyered -...
View ArticleThe IRS and your email
Did you know the IRS has asserted, and apparently exercised, a right to read your emails without a warrant? I didn’t, until now. [ACLU; more from ProPublica] Regarding yesterday’s revelation that the...
View ArticleMore on Maryland v. King
Caleb Brown of Cato interviews me: Official DNA database use and obligatory testing is now sure to expand; where might it be headed? “If states are using DNA to verify paternity on births to underage...
View ArticleWhen government Hoovers up information
Don’t just think vacuum cleaners, think J. Edgar Hoover. [Gene Healy, Washington Examiner] In fact there’s a long history of misuse of ostensibly secure law-enforcement files and databases [1993 GAO...
View ArticleSurveillance roundup
“Old crisis creates new leviathan” [Barton Hinkle] Some other things that maybe should happen before Snowden gets prosecuted [Bruce Schneier] “Were they here, my parents might have asked, ‘What...
View ArticleSCOTUS: trial lawyers can’t scoop up DMV names to solicit cases
Yesterday, in the case of Maracich v. Spears, the Supreme Court ruled that the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act of 1994 (DPPA) prohibits trial lawyers from accessing names and contact information from...
View ArticleFBI: yes, we do use drones for domestic surveillance
But it’s been “very seldom” so far. Oh, well, then that’s okay. [Mashable, Guardian, earlier] More: Most of us would say a drone hovering 20 feet above our back yard invades our property. Will the FAA...
View ArticleDid Euro data privacy regs help kill Google Reader?
Many loyal users (including me) were beyond glum when Google decided to close down its venerable RSS reader, effective yesterday. Maxim Lott at Fox News has this report: “You would think that it would...
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