Adam Liptak reports: Supreme Court opinions have come down with a bad case of link rot. According to a new study, 49 percent of the hyperlinks in Supreme Court decisions no longer work. This can sometimes be amusing. A link in a 2011 Supreme Court opinion about violent video games by Justice Samuel A. Alito […]
Author Archive | Orin Kerr
Government Files 118-page Merits Brief in United States v. Auernheimer
I’ve blogged a few times about the case of United States v. Auernheimer, the computer crime case pending before the Third Circuit in which I am pro bono counsel for the defendant (along with EFF, Marcia Hofmann, and trial counsel Tor Ekeland). We filed our merits brief in July, and it is available here. On […]
My (Mostly Critical) Thoughts on the August 2013 FISC Opinion on Section 215
The FISC has released an August 2013 opinion, authored by Judge Claire Eagan, on the lawfulness of the NSA’s telephony metadata program. I thought part of the opinion was persuasive but most of it was unpersuasive. Here are my thoughts on the opinion in the order that the issues appear in the opinion, which end […]
Brains on Trial: Part 1, Determining Guilt
An interesting episode from a new PBS special on the role of neuroscience in criminal law, featuring Nita Farahany. I tend to be skeptical about the usefulness of this sort of evidence, but it’s an interesting issue.
Law School Electives and the Two-Year vs. Three-Year Debate
Whether the J.D. degree should take two years or three years is a recurring question in legal education. But a lot of the debate ignores one of the more unusual aspects of the J.D. degree: For the most part, the second and third years consist only of electives. The first year features a mandatory curriculum, […]
It’s Such a Great TV Show That Even The Criminals Like It
From the facts of United States v. Cross, a decision from Chief Judge Garland handed down yesterday involving a wiretap that targeted a large-scale heroin conspiracy: On the wiretap, the agents overheard a series of conversations between Toure and appellant Cross. On several occasions, Cross used coded language to place narcotics orders. Cross and Toure […]
Ninth Circuit Holds That Intercepting Unencrypted Wireless Internet Communications is Covered by the Wiretap Act
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 […]
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 […]
Drug Sniffing Dogs and Marijuana Decriminalization
Under Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405 (2005), the use of a drug sniffing dog to alert for drugs is not a Fourth Amendment search. Caballes reasoned that possession of the drug is a crime, and a sniff that only alerts to the presence of the drug does not infringe on an expectation of privacy […]
Can the Police Go to the Front Door of a Home Marked With “No Trespassing” Signs?
In Florida v. Jardines, 133 S.Ct. 1409 (2013), the Supreme Court indicated that a police officer’s right to walk up to a front door of a person’s home is subject to an implied license based on existing social norms. Going on to the property and approaching the front door is a physical intrusion onto the […]
Can the Police Enter Property Marked With “No Trespassing” Signs?
[I’m having trouble getting the post to appear; sorry for the technical difficulties.]
“Nine Questions About Syria You Were Too Embarrassed To Ask”
A very helpful explanation from Max Fisher at The Washington Post. From the introduction: The United States and allies are preparing for a possibly imminent series of limited military strikes against Syria, the first direct U.S. intervention in the two-year civil war, in retaliation for President Bashar al-Assad’s suspected use of chemical weapons against civilians. […]
Columbia Journalism Review on Defense Attorneys in Computer Crime Cases
The story is in two parts, The Lawyers Hackers Call and ‘Find the Best Defense Attorney You Can’, and it includes quotes from me and several others. I had related thoughts in 2011 here.
Does Congress Have the Power to Enact A General Ban on the Use of Bugging Devices?
Since 1968, federal law has prohibited the use of bugging devices — secret microphones — to record private conversations. Here’s the relevant text: [A]ny person who . . . intentionally intercepts, endeavors to intercept, or procures any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept, any . . . oral . . . communication [is […]
Geoffrey Stone Added to NSA Surveillance Review Committee
Today the White House formally released the names of the committee of “outside experts” to review the NSA’s surveillance practices. A fifth name was added to the list beyond the four leaked last week: Professor Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago Law School. I debated Professor Stone on national security surveillance issues back in […]