The decision is Joffe v. Google. From the introduction: In the course of capturing its Street View photographs, Google collected data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks. Google publicly apologized, but plaintiffs brought suit under federal and state law, including the Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2511. Google argues that its data collection did not violate the […]
Archive | September, 2013
The Colorado Recalls Explained
By David Kopel on September 11, 2013 3:16 am in "Bullying" Bans, Constitutional Law, Fifth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Guns, Libertarianism, Popular Constitutionalism
Yesterday voters in Colorado recalled two State Senators. One result was not a surprise, and the other is a shock. Of course the votes are Second Amendment victories for the right to arms, but more fundamentally, they are Fourteenth Amendment victories for Due Process of Law. Former State Senate President John Morse represented Colorado Springs, […]
Fourth Amendment Civil Suit for Deleting a Picture from the Plaintiff’s Camera
Here’s an oddball Fourth Amendment case involving an issue I have never seen litigated: How does the Fourth Amendment apply to deleting a picture from a digital camera? In Burch v. City of Florence, Ala., 913 F.Supp.2d 1221 (N.D.Ala. 2012), the police had received various complaints that the plaintiff was causing concern because he was […]
FISA — The Uncanny Valley of Article III
I’m still working my way through all the FISA court material that was declassified today, and acquiring a new appreciation for how hard a journalist’s job can be. But I’ve gotten far enough to start worrying, seriously, about the role we’ve given to the FISA court and what it does to the court and NSA. […]
Why did the Guardian destroy its Snowden files?
I’ve been struck by an aspect of the Snowden affair that hasn’t been covered so far — the Guardian’s troubling decision to destroy its UK trove of Snowden documents rather than let the UK government see them. Court filings in the UK tell the government’s side of that story, and they don’t make the Guardian look good. […]
The Supreme Court ‘Beauty Contest’: A Behind-the-Scenes Look
Over the last two decades, a dedicated Supreme Court bar has gained prominence, focusing on arguing the increasingly few cases before the justices each term. These lawyers face fierce competition in persuading clients to hire them, participating in a not-so-glamorous competition known in the industry as a “beauty contest.” At these lawyerly pageants, attorneys competing […]
A “Libertarian” Case for Conscription?
There are a number of standard arguments for military conscription. But Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry’s recent essay for Cato Unbound is unusual for claiming that conscription can be justified on libertarian grounds. With the possible exception of strict pacifism, it’s difficult to imagine an ideology more antithetical to conscription than libertarianism. As it turns out, most of […]
Is Money Speech?
The Federalist Society just released a 2½-minute video I wrote and narrated on this subject. (The video is part of a new Federalist Society project, and will likely be the first of many.) Many thanks to Ozymandias Media for its design work, and to Lee Otis, Tyler Lowe, and my coblogger Nick Rosenkranz for all […]
“How Will the Destruction of the Syrian Chemical Arsenal Work Anyway?”
Max Boot asks the question, which seems like the important one at this point. (He also had a related post yesterday.) I’m no expert at all on such matters, but Boot’s analysis strikes me as worth reading. An excerpt: The language coming from the Syrians and Russians suggests that Syria’s arsenal will not be moved […]
Atheist Bangladeshi Bloggers Being Prosecuted for “Defaming Islam and the Prophet Mohammed”
Agence France Press reports: “They have been indicted… with defaming Islam, the Prophet Mohammed and other religions through their Internet writings. They spread malice against all religions,” [Judge Zahirul Haque] said. [Prosecutor Shah Alam] Talukdar said if found guilty the bloggers, who are free on bail, could be sentenced to seven years in jail under […]
Stewart Baker Testimony on DHS and Cybersecurity
I’ll be testifying tomorrow, September 11, about DHS’s progress in over a decade of existence. A copy of the full testimony is here: Baker testimony to Senate Homeland Sep 2013. But I suspect that the most interesting section concerns cybersecurity, which I’ve excerpted below. Sometimes it’s easier to persuade the team to give you the ball […]
How Randy Barnett joined the constitutional challenge to Obamacare
Randy Barnett had many critical roles in the constitutional challenge to Obamacare (Disclosure: Barnett wrote the foreword for my book). In one respect, he was a leading constitutional theorists who helped develop the arguments that five Justices ultimately accepted . In another respect, he was a constitutional evangelist, dedicating nearly three years of his life to […]
I am interviewed in the Daily Caller about Unprecedented
Unprecedented officially comes out today. The Daily Caller ran a full-length interview with me about the book, titled “New book takes you behind the scenes of the constitutional challenge to Obamacare“. You may enjoy the story of where the title Unprecedented came from (some of you may know part of it). Like most things in Washington, the title “Unprecedented” came […]
Playing Pick Up Sticks With National Security
Back from a fine hiking vacation, I have a short op-ed in USA Today: Many of us played Pick Up Sticks in our youth, slowly pulling first one then another stick from the jumble. You lost the game by pulling out the stick that collapsed the pile. It’s a great way to pass a rainy […]
Congress’ Options on the Syria AUMF in Light of the Russian Offer to Transfer Assad’s Chemical Weapons to International Control
The Russian government and the Assad regime recently offered to transfer Syria’s chemical weapons to “international” control, in exchange for the US and its allies foregoing a military strike on Assad’s forces. Obviously, the offer raises many issues, including whether Russia’s and Assad’s assurances can be trusted and effectively verified. In this post, I only […]