Google to Be Sued for Identifying an Anonymous Blogger

Rosemary Port is suing Google for identifying her as the anonymous blogger who had nasty things to say about Liskula Cohen.  Google identified Port under a court order.  Now, Port and her lawyer, Salvatore Strazzullo, are threatening to sue Google in federal court for $15 million dollars. 

Port's argument is that Google has a fiduciary duty to protect her expectation of anonymity.  Port also argues that, under the First Amendment, she has the right to speak anonymously and that this right should extend to the internet.

Privacy groups are worried about the effect this case could have on internet speech going forward.  The court may need to address questions like:

Does the First Amendment protect the right to remain anonymous while using the Internet while speaking about others?

Is Internet speech meaningless chatter or can be proven to be accusations that are false and defamatory?

Source: TechnologyLive and ABA Journal

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Google Earth Adds Traffic Conditions to Major Roads
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Setting PACER Free with Firefox

Ed Felten, of the Princeton's Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP), has created a novel way to set documents free from PACER's paywall.  A Firefox extension, dubbed RECAP, has been created and distributed by the group.  Anyone who uses PACER with RECAP will have all the documents purchased, mirrored and uploaded to the Internet Archive.  This is allowed due to the fact that copyright is not applied  to court documents.  If enough users download RECAP and contribute to this process, another barrier to  access court information will fall. For access to free caselaw on the web, check out our sister site, The Public Library of Law (www.plol.org).

Let us know your thoughts on this extension and process in the comments!

Source: Ars Technica,; RECAP

Notable Morning Stories ....

Why Justice Thomas Loves Wal-Mart
~ ABA Journal

Clinton suggests US could join war crimes court
~ The Associated Press

Found: A pocket guide to prehistoric Spain
~ NewScientest 

D.C. Area Law Firm Sues Over Outsourced Legal Work, Alleges Privilege Issue
~ ABA Journal

Ohio Becomes the 42nd State to Allow 3Ls to Handle "More than Misdemeanors"

This week, the Indigent Defense Clinic at the Ohio Justice & Policy Center succeeded in its campagin for 3Ls to be allowed to handle felony.  Students must be affiliated withwith a law school clinic or similar non-profit and experienced lawyers must be supervising the students.  The clinic argues that everyone wins - the students get experience and overburdened public defenders and prosecutors benefit from the help - especially now that budgets don't always have room for new staff attorneys.

Now, only 8 states do not allow students to deal with felonies.  Opponents argue defendants need higher quality defense when they are looking at the serious consequences that come with a felony conviction. 

Source: Am Law Daily, cleveland.com

Suggested Practices for Citing Internet Materials

The internet is a constantly changing and evolving space.  Citing materials or links online is a tricky proposition, as URLs change, sites go offline and content is altered.   

The Judicial Conference has proposed a set of best practices when citing online material:

• If a website is cited, a permanent copy should be downloaded and added as an attachment to the Judiciary’s Case Management/Electronic Case Files System
• Avoid using hyperlinks that lead directly to commercial vendors, so that there is no appearance of endorsement or preferential treatment 
• Keep in mind that some litigants, such as pro se, may not have access to a computer

Source: The Third Branch

Notable Morning Stories ...

After the boom, is Wikipedia heading for bust?
~ NewScientist

US cyber-security tsar steps down
~ BBC News

Rivalry Between Apple and Palm Intensifies
~ The New York Times

Sotomayor Questions: NRA Influence and Partisan Divide
~ ABA Journal