Flash Digest: News in Brief

By Pio Szamel

Court Finds Warrant Unnecessary for Tracking of Unauthorized WiFi User

Republican Study Committee Releases, then Retracts Report Calling for Copyright Reform

Texas Student Granted Temporary Restraining Order against School RFID Tracking Requirement

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Unites States v. Magana By Casey Holzapfel – Edited by Geng Chen United States v. Magana, No. 12-CR-154 (E.D. Wis. Oct. 29, 2012) Order United States v. Mendoza, No. 12-CR-154 (WCG/WEC) (E.D. Wis. Oct. 9, 2012) Recommendation The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin ruled that Wisconsin law enforcement officers did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they installed hidden surveillance cameras on private property without a warrant. Judge William Griesbach accepted the recommendation of Magistrate ... Read More...

Sixth Circuit Approves Warrantless Tracking of Cell Phone Location By Michael Hoven – Edited by Andrew Crocker United States v. Skinner, No. 09-6497 (6th Cir. Aug. 14, 2012) Slip opinion The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a jury’s conviction of Melvin Skinner on two counts related to drug trafficking and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, rejecting Skinner’s argument on appeal that the district court had wrongly denied his motion to suppress evidence on the ... Read More...

Twitter Must Produce Occupy Wall Street Protestor’s Data By Sarah Jeong – Edited by Michael Hoven People of the State of New York v. Malcolm Harris, Docket No. 2011NY080152 (N.Y. Crim. Ct. June 30, 2012) Decision and Order (hosted by the ACLU) The Criminal Court of the City of New York denied Twitter’s motion to quash a subpoena, thereby allowing discovery of defendant Malcolm Harris’s tweets and other non-content information collected by Twitter. On January 26, 2012, the New York ... Read More...

Kentucky District Court Latest to Grapple with Warrantless GPS Tracking after Jones By Sarah Jeong – Edited by Michael Hoven United States v. Lee, Criminal No. 11-65-ART (E.D. Ky., May 22, 2012) Slip opinion (hosted by TalkLeft) The U.S. District Court of Eastern Kentucky suppressed the discovery of 150 pounds of marijuana in the defendant’s possession, due to the placement of a warrantless GPS tracking device on his car. The search and arrest took place prior to United States v. Jones, ... Read More...