ZiefBrief

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.

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.

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.

Prof. Freiwald Posts About Cell Location Privacy Decision On Concurring Opinions Blog

As posted earlier, USF Law Professor Susan Freiwald filed a friend of the court brief and participated in oral arguments in an important case before the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeal. This morning she posted her take on the case in the well-regarded law blog Concurring Opinions and attempts to put the decision in its proper perspective. She does a great job of breaking the decision down by analyzing the parties and their arguments, the court's statutory and constitutional analysis, and what will happen next.

To read the complete blog post click here.