ZiefBrief

Professor Hing on Immigration Rights for Same-Sex Couples

Professor Bill Hing speaks out about immigration rights for same-sex couples on ImmigrationProf Blog today.  An excerpt from his post: 

President Obama’s bold endorsement of same-sex marriage sends a strong immigration-reform message to Congress: it's time to allow U.S. citizens lawfully married to same-sex partners the opportunity to apply for lawful immigrant status. Under current law, prospective immigrants who want to immigrate through marriage can only do so if they are parties to a heterosexual relationship. . . . 


The way out of this inequity is the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA).  UAFA would allow U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor their same-sex partners for immigration to the United States. The bill (and its predecessor) has been introduced into every subsequent Congress since the year 2000. Every year support has increased, and in the last Congress, more co-sponsors than ever before were garnered. In the 111th Congress (2009-2010), there was a record-breaking 135 co-sponsors in the House. And today there are more than 20 co-sponsors in the Senate. UAFA would amend the immigration laws by simply adding the term "permanent partner" in sections where "spouse" appears, thus ensuring that a non-citizen permanent partner may receive the same immigration benefits that a non-citizen spouse now receives. 

Professor Freiwald Blogs About Cell Site Location Data

USF Law professor Susan Freiwald has just started a stint as a guest contributor at Concurring Opinions (ranked among the top 10 law blogs) this week. Her first blog post, Fifth Circuit Considers Constitutionality of Cell Site Location Data is a primer on topic that has grown more timely of late in light of information uncovered by the ACLU and reported extensively in the New York Times.

Prof. Freiwald specifically addresses a pending case before the Fifth Circuit which could add some clarity to the question of under what circumstances government agents will be required to seek a probable cause warrant for cell phone location data. She is eminently qualified to write on the subject having submitted an amicus brief in the case.

This blog post is only the first of a series of posts that will be appearing in Concurring Opinions by Prof. Friewald on the topic. Scholars and citizens with and interest in civil liberties and digital privacy will be interested in following what promises to be a lively series of posts.

Professor Freiwald Guest Blogging at Concurring Opinions

Professor Susan Freiwald will be a guest blogger with the popular law professor blog, Concurring Opinions, for the next month. 

Professor Hing on Operation Gatekeeper

Professor Hing recently posted on Herman Cain's "electrified fences" proposal as a solution to undocumented immigration and the Border Patrol's use of Operation Gatekeeper.  Professor Hing argues that Operation Gatekeeper, which stepped up Border Patrol enforcement and route blockades in the San Diego sector, has forced undocumented immigrants to attempt crossings in areas with dangerous, hazardous terrain and weather conditions, leading to an increase in deaths among migrants.  Operation Gatekeeper can be viewed as the "moral equivalent" of Cain's electrified fences proposal.

Bar Review Diaries

Above the Law is featuring posts from three recent law grads who are studying for the bar, which will be aptly labeled "The Bar Review Diaries." 

Ohio Deposition Hi-Jinks

Most people wouldn't have a hard time determining whether their office had a photocopier or not. You would think that the acting head of information technology for the recorder's division of the Cuyahoga County fiscal office should be able to answer the question. But in a recent deposition the existence or non-existence of an office photocopier was a source of much discussion. Some of the best banter:

Deponent: When you say "photocopying machine," what do you mean?

Questioning Attorney: Let me be -- let me make sure I understand your question. You don't have an understanding of what a photocopying machine is?

Deponent: No. I want to make sure that I answer your question correctly.

Deponent's Attorney: Dave, I'll object to the tone of the question. You make it sound like it's unbelievable to you that he wouldn't know what the definition of a photocopy machine is.

Questioning Attorney: I didn't ask him to define it. I asked him if he had any.

Deponent: When you say "photocopying machine," what do you mean?

Questioning Attorney: Let me be clear. The term "photocopying machine" is so ambiguous that you can't picture in your mind what a photocopying machine is in an office setting?

Deponent: I just want to make sure I answer your question correctly.

See the article at http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/03/identifying_photocopy_machine.html for a more complete transcript of the exchange.

US Court of Appeals Protects Privacy of Stored E-Mail Thanks in Part to Prof. Freiwald

As noted in a previous blog entry on Zief Brief, USF professor Susan Freiwald co-filed an amicus brief in United States v. Warshak [PDF of the 12/14/10 decision], a case in which the Government seized over 27,000 of the defendant's private e-mails without bothering to get a warrant. This week the 6th Circuit issued an important ruling that extends significant constitutional protection for an individuals stored e-mail messages. In addressing the constitutional issues behind their decision the court quoted directly from Fourth Amendment Protection for Stored E-Mail, an article co-authored by Professors Freiwald and Patricia Bellia of Notre Dame School of Law. Professor Freiwald has posted a complete analysis of the decision and its important implications for the future at the blog Concurring Opinions in the post Sixth Circuit Brings Fourth Amendment Protection to Stored Email. Kudos to Prof. Freiwald for the part she played in this process.

SCOTUS Gives a Shout-Out to Secondary Sources!

In a recent oral argument in the case of Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting Justice Kennedy is quoted as saying he would "look in Corpus Juris Secundum or ALR or something" to help clear up a question about "licensing." While it might have been nice if Justice Kennedy had included a source other than those published by West Publishing, it is good to see that a) Supreme Court Justices still do some of their own research and b) that they turn to secondary sources to save time and trouble. We await the day when one of the Justices says he or she will "just Google it."

Original source the always enjoyable Law Librarian Bolg, a member of the Law Professor Blogs Network.

First Star Trek, Now Monty Python Cited by Courts

 

Last week we Tweeted a blog post about a recent decision that included a reference to Star Trek's Mr. Spock. In a concurring opinion Texas Supreme Court Justice Don R. Willet quoted Spock's maxim that it was only logical that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. To read the decision click here.

Now we are able to report a new addition to enlightened jurisprudence: a case from the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas that cites to a sketch by Monty Python. In footnote 69 of a decision authored by US Magistrate Judge Stephen Smith (available as a .pdf file from the ACLU at this link) the court makes a parallel between the ability of law enforcement agents to track the target of an investigation using cell phone location data with the demise of Mr. Nesbitt in the famous "How Not To Be Seen" sketch that appeared in both Episode 24 of Monty Python's Flying Circus and in slightly different form in the film Now For Something Completely Different.  Legal researchers who want to view the sketch should go to YouTube and search for "Monty Python" and "How Not To Be Seen" or try this link.  Thanks to USF Professor Susan Freiwald for bringing this to our attention.

What You Say On Facebook Can And Will Be Used Against You.

ZiefBrief has commented in the past on the pitfalls of Facebook and other social networking sites when it comes to becoming a lawyer. Now the incomparable Bruce Schneier's blog at Schneier on Security has uncovered a new service calling itself Social Intelligence Hiring. It seems that the good folks at S.I.H. will prepare a full dossier on a subject drawing from "Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn, blogs, and 'thousands of other sources'." They then render their research down into categories like  "Poor Judgment," "Gangs," "Drugs and Drug Lingo" and "Demonstrating Potentially Violent Behavior." Click here for more about Social Intelligence and their pre- and post-hiring monitoring programs.

So the lesson for all of us is to think twice about what we post about ourselves on the web. Recently, Google's CEO Eric Schmidt predicted that the day will come when you will have the option to clean you digital slate and start over as a new digital entity. But for the time being, remember what goes on the web probably stays on the web.