Search

Categories

Total Results

No Record Found

View All Results
DONATE

News & Opinion

Justice Department gains right to WikiLeaks associates’ Twitter info

donal brown November 10, 2011

A federal judge upheld a lower court decision that the Justice Department may obtain records of twitter accounts of three current and former WikiLeaks associates. Under the ruling by the lower court, the order includes records showing the times messages were sent to one another and the Internet IP addresses but does not include the content of messages nor information on other Twitter user who follow the accounts. -db From Wired, November 10, 2011, by

Read More »

Federal judge rules against New York Times in withholding of records of FBI terrorism investigations

donal brown November 10, 2011

A federal judge ruled that the FBI could withhold data from its terrorism investigations from a New York Times investigative reporter. The judge said The New York Times had not rebutted the FBI’s statement that they had fulfilled requests made under the Freedom of Information Act except for that under FOIA exemption. -db From the Courthouse News Service, November 10, 2011, by Adam Klasfeld. Full story  

Read More »

Schools struggle to balance free speech rights with responsible use of social media

donal brown November 10, 2011

Delaware schools and schools across the country are crafting policies to encourage responsible use of the social media but in doing so often run head on into the First Amendment. Many educators and free speech advocates see the need to educated students at an early age to the consequences of cyberbullying and other questionable uses of the social media. -db From DFMNews, November 8, 2011, by Eileen Smith Dallabrida. Full story    

Read More »

Obama administration restores access to doctor malpractice records – with limits

donal brown November 10, 2011

The Obama administration reversed its policy to block access to information on malpractice settlements and discipline taken against doctors but set some conditions that journalists do not like. The administration said that information from the National Practitioner Data Bank could not be reposted or used with other information to identify a doctor. The administration had taken down the data bank because a Kansas reporter had used the information to track down a doctor with a

Read More »

Oklahoma search and seizure case raises free speech issues

donal brown November 10, 2011

When policeman in an Oklahoma town detained a woman in a Terry stop – a brief stop for criminal activity under reasonable suspicion but not probable cause – the woman refused to answer a question then tussled with the policeman. The woman sued in federal court under the Firth Amendment against unreasonable search and seizure. One federal court broached the First Amendment issue of whether the woman had the right not to answer the policeman’s

Read More »