Law journal publishes issue discussing United States v. Jones topics: Privacy, Good Faith, Third Party Doctrine and more

The North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology recently published an issue dedicated to the Supreme Court's 2012 decision in United States v. Jones. Be sure to check out these great articles. “Jones”ing for Privacy Mandate, Getting a Technology Fix – Doctrine to Follow - Stephanie K. Pell A Shattered Looking Glass: The Pitfalls and Potential of the Mosaic Theory of Fourth Amendment Privacy - David Gray & Danielle Keats Citron The “Davis” Good Faith Rule and Getting Answers to Questions “Jones” Left Open - Susan...

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Featured Paper: Adequate Attribution: A Framework For Developing A National Policy For Private Sector Use of Active Defense

Volume 8, Issue 1 of the University of Maryland Journal of Business & Technology Law published a rather interesting article on active defense policy. Adequate Attribution: A Framework For Developing A National Policy For Private Sector Use of Active Defense was authored by Shane McGee, General Counsel and Vice President of Legal Affairs at Mandiant, Randy V. Sabett, Counsel with ZwillGen PLLC, and Anand Shah, Staff Attorney at Mandiant and Technology Fellow at ZwillGen PLLC. The article is very timely, as it follows on the heels of a recent...

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Massachusetts high court holds passenger has standing to challenge GPS tracking

In a recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court opinion, the high court held that both a driver and passenger had standing to challenge the use of GPS surveillance on a vehicle. Commonwealth v. Rousseau, Commonwealth v. Dreslinski, Nos. SJC-11227, SJC-11228 (Mass. 2013). The case involves the appeals of two defendants, each arguing that the use of GPS tracking over a thirty-one day period violated the Fourth Amendment because it was not supported by probable cause and was overly broad. One defendant was the owner and operator of the vehicle;...

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Texas enacts statute preventing law enforcement from getting electronic data without search warrant

Be sure to check out Texas's new law, signed and made effective this past Friday, which prevents state and local law enforcement from obtaining stored customer data without a search warrant. Here is part of the new law: Sec. 5A.  WARRANT ISSUED IN THIS STATE FOR STORED CUSTOMER DATA OR COMMUNICATIONS. (a) This section applies to a warrant required under Section 4 to obtain electronic customer data, including the contents of a wire communication or electronic communication. (b)  On the filing of an application by an authorized peace...

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Watch the Terms and Conditions May Apply documentary trailer

If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check out this trailer for Terms and Conditions May Apply which "examines the cost of so-called 'free' services and the continuing disappearance of online privacy. People may think they know what they give up when they click 'I Agree' on companies like Facebook and Google. They're wrong." ...

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State appellate court rules on Facebook message authentication and hearsay arguments

In Smith v. State, No. 2012-KA-00218-COA, the Mississippi Court of Appeals addressed authentication and hearsay arguments regarding social networking messages in a case of first impression. The court ultimately found the messages to have been properly admitted. The defendant was convicted of capital murder for the death of his stepdaughter, a seventeen-month old girl. At trial, the prosecution was allowed to use as evidence Facebook messages sent between the defendant and his wife. On appeal, the defendant argued that the Facebook messages should...

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Mississippi Law Journal publishes eight articles on technology and search and seizure

Be sure to check out these articles published recently in the Mississippi Law Journal related to technology and the Fourth Amendment, including two on United States v. Jones. Protecting State Secrets: Jurisdictional Differences and Current Developments, Miiko Kumar, 82 Miss. L.J. 853 (2013) United States v. Jones: Return to Trespass–Good News or Bad, Arnold H. Loewy, 82 Miss. L.J. 879 (2013) Fear and Loathing at the U.S. Border, Janet C. Hoeffel and Stephen Singer, 82 Miss. L.J. 833 (2013) Privacy in an Age of Advancing Technology, Russell...

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The Verizon FISA Court Order, the PRISM Program, And a Whirlwind Of Commentary: A Look Back At An Eventful Two Days

Late Wednesday night, news from The Guardian broke of a leaked top secret order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), which granted the National Security Agency (NSA) “on going daily” access to all "call detail records" (or “telephony metadata”) in the possession of Verizon Business Network Services for a three-month period. Thursday evening, The Washington Post released presentation slides detailing the NSA and FBI’s PRISM Program, a top-secret program that enabled these government entities the ability to extract mass amounts...

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