Privacy practice
1/16/13
By Eileen Daspin
Devices that track children's whereabouts are all the rage
in the United States and elsewhere, reports The Economist. There
are bracelets and radio tags that parents can buy to follow
their young ones, as well as tracking beacons that let parents
eavesdrop on them from afar. Educators too have gotten in on the
action. In August, two schools in San Antonio won a court fight
allowing them to require students to sport a form of radio
frequency identification. The devices are used to record
attendance, which in turn helps the schools with funding by the
state, Reuters reported in 2012. Attendance is based on the
number of pupils present in the classroom at the start of the
day.
But where in this firmament is the outrage over privacy,
asks The Economist. Some European countries require a minor's
consent for some kinds of surveillance, but not so in the United
States, where relatively few voices have spoken up for children
whose schools and parents are tracking their every move. "Hasn't
anyone read '1984'? 'The Scarlet Letter'? 'The Diary of Anne
Frank'? I am baffled and slightly outraged that there are not
more cries to protect our children from this disgraceful
humiliation and abuse," wrote one commenter on The Economist's
website. Dehumanizing is the word: People should remember their
history and take a hard look at what happens to people when they
are forced to wear badges and submit to surveillance."
Slow train coming
1/16/13
By Dan Brillman
New York City train operators have been told by the Transit
Workers Union to take "extra care" when entering stations,
reports the New York Daily News. "In the interest of safety,"
reads a flyer sent out to members, " slow down, blow your horn
and proceed with caution." If drivers get in trouble for their
tardiness, they are advised to call the union.
The flyer notes that there were three "12-9s" -- code for a
person being hit by a train -- per week in 2012 and refers to
the recent rash of passenger subway deaths. But could the
advisory be a cloaked slowdown -- illegal under the state's
Taylor Law -- in the midst of the TWU's contract negotiations
with the Metropolitan Transit Authority, asks the News? The
controversial law, drafted after a series of transit strikes in
the late 1960s, forbids strikes or work slowdowns by public
employees.
The timing is certainly interesting, what with the most
recent contract between the two sides expiring Tuesday and
negotiations at a standstill.
Model magic
1/16/13
By Anna Louie Sussman
Litigation finance has had its ups and downs in recent
years. It has been embraced as a potential moneymaker by
companies like Juridica and Burford that back costly lawsuits in
exchange for a share of any settlement or judgment. It also has
been roundly criticized by the Chamber of Commerce as a
"coercive enterprise."
Maya Steinitz, a University of Iowa College of Law
professor, has a different take on the practice. She thinks the
contracts used between litigation funders, plaintiffs and their
lawyers aren't what they should be. Trying to fix the problem,
Steinitz this week launched www.litigationfinancecontract.com, a
website that invites interested parties to help her develop a
model litigation-finance contract. Her goal is to come up with
something that puts funder and plaintiff on the same footing,
she said.
The draft contract will be rolled out provision by
provision, with each new component accompanied by commentary
explaining the reasoning behind it, she said. An early essay
outlines the case for "staged funding," where the investor
commits resources over a period of time, a strategy used in
venture capital financing. "The purpose of doing it online is to
say, 'I'm one person, and I'm not from the industry, I'm a
theorist, so let's crowdsource it, so to speak,'" said Steinitz.
Roe v. states
1/16/13
By Suhrith Parthasarathy
This month marks the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme
Court decision legalizing abortion, Roe v. Wade. In recent years
the ruling's impact has been eroded by state-level abortion
laws, according to infographics released by the Guttmacher
Institute (hat tip: Mother Jones). In 2011, for instance, there
were more state-level restrictions on abortion rights passed
than any prior year, and 2012 was not far behind. More than half
of all U.S. women of reproductive age (15 to 44) live in a state
that is hostile to abortion rights, compared to fewer than
one-third a decade ago, according to the statistics.
Access to abortion has also been restricted by new limits
placed on funding. Federal Medicaid funds can only be used for
abortions that result from rape and incest or if the baby is
likely to endanger the mother's health, says Guttmacher, with 17
states offering financial help in other cases. Impoverished
women, who are also usually less educated, have had a
disproportionate share of unwanted pregnancies and are the ones
most affected by the abortion restrictions, says Mother Jones.
Daddy dearest
1/16/13
By Caitlin Tremblay
When Taja Riley talked to her music producer father, Teddy
Riley, about a gift to help jump-start her career in the music
biz, she probably wasn't expecting a lawsuit.
Teddy Riley, who has worked with the likes of Michael
Jackson, Usher and Snoop Dogg, has sued his daughter and the
record label that hired her for copyright infringement,
fraudulent copyright registration and unfair competition,
according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Teddy apparently gave his elder daughter, Deja Riley, a
songwriting credit on a song to help her career. Taja allegedly
wanted the same thing and spoke with him about sharing credit on
the Lady Gaga song "Teeth" off the hit album "The Fame Monster."
Teddy says they never came to an agreement.
He claims that when Taja signed a deal with EMI Music
Publishing and EMI Virgin Music, she said she had a co-writing
credit and a 25 percent interest in "Teeth." Neither Taja nor
EMI has commented on the suit, which appears to be a case of
father-daughter, he-said-she-said.
Summary Judgments for January 15
Summary Judgments for January 14
Summary Judgments for January 11
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