Constitutional Law › Communications & Media Law

IP/Entertainment Law Weekly Case Update for Motion Picture Studios and Television Networks -- May 17, 2013

Righthaven LLC v. Hoehn, USCA, Ninth Circuit, May 9, 2013 - Ninth Circuit affirms district courts’ dismissals of copyright infringement actions holding that entity created solely for purpose of pursuing copyright...more

Can the Government Search Your iPad or iPhone at the Border?

Can the United States search your laptop, camera, iPhone/iPad, or other devices at the border? Read this article on the Fourth Amendment rights and exceptions....more

California Moves One Step Closer to Passing Privacy Bill Requiring a Search Warrant for Providers' Customers' Emails

In a 33-1 vote, on May 13, the state Senate approved Senator Mark Leno's bill that would require state law enforcement officials to obtain a search warrant before asking service providers to disclose the contents of their...more

Let Them Eat Cake! (And Then Write an Online Review about It)

Arizona's restaurant scene is buzzing these days with last Friday's season finale of "Kitchen Nightmares". Just Google "Amy's Baking Company" and a proliferation of stories about the featured business appears, including a...more

Platinum Sports Shoots Air Ball; Sixth Circuit Dismisses Action Against Governor Snyder And Attorney General Schuette For Lack Of...

In 2011, the Michigan legislature enacted laws barring sexually oriented businesses from displaying signs on premises, or off-site billboards, that contain more than "words or numbers." See MCL §§ 125.2833 and 252.318a. ...more

Energy Drink Regulatory Update: Monster Sues City of San Francisco in Federal Court, City Fires Back in California State Court

The FDA announced that it is conducting an investigation into the use of caffeine in foods and beverages. Since the FDA’s announcement, the energy drink industry has continued to receive significant media attention. On May 6,...more

NJ Court Upholds OPRA Denial Over Personnel Records

NJ Court Upholds OPRA Denial Over Personnel Records by Sheri Siegelbaum on May 13, 2013 The Appellate Division recently sided with the Office of the Governor in a dispute over records requested under the New Jersey Open...more

State of Alabama v. Carlos Edward Kennedy

ORDER REGARDING ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND CONTACT WITH JURORS, POTENTIAL JURORS AND WITNESSES

The trend around the nation is for judges to ban the use of laptops, I-Phones, Blackberries and other electronic devices whether used by reporters or the public to report on the trial. This Order allows their use in the 13th...more

Should Teachers Be “Friends” With Students? Proposed NJ Bill Would Regulate Electronic Communications

Communication between a child and a teacher over the internet tends to make parents and school administrators uncomfortable.  As social media like Facebook continues to become a common form of communication, laws regulating...more

Are "Click-Through" Internet Marketing Tax Laws Constitutional?

Our preview of the oral arguments at the Illinois Supreme Court during the May term concludes with Performance Marketing Association, Inc. v. Hamer. PMA will be heard by the Court during the 9:00 a.m. session on Thursday, May...more

Context, Content And Privacy In Warrantless Searches Of Cell Phone And Cameras

Context and content matters to the assessment of reasonable expectations of privacy in criminal law matters. Recently, in R. v. B. (C.), 2013 CarswellOnt 3851 (SCJ), P. Smith J. considered the constitutionality of a...more

Sixth Circuit Rules School’s Search Of Student Cellphone Violated Fourth Amendment

In a recent decision, the first federal appellate court to address the rights of school officials to search student cell phones held that a student’s violation of a school rule regarding technology did not justify a general...more

Illinois Appellate Court Holds Four-Year Federal Catch-All Statute Of Limitations Governs Private Party TCPA Claims Brought In...

Plaintiff filed suit, placing at issue allegedly unsolicited faxes sent in violation of the TCPA. At issue was the applicable statute of limitations. Defendant’s argued that the Illinois two-year statute governing claims...more

Jackson Walker's VIA Media Postcard - April 2013

In This Issue: - Steve Fogle's Feature: Out of the Blue - A recent unexpected court order restricting the media from reporting on certain details of a high-profile criminal case serves as a reminder that the...more

Naffe v. Frey, et al.

Ruling DISMISSING Complaint under FRCP 12(b)(1) and Section 1983 claim under FRCP 12(b)(6) with Prejudice, etc.

Per Kenneth White, blogger at Popehat.com: http://www.popehat.com/2013/04/19/victory-for-blogger-patterico-in-free-speech-case/ : "Patrick Frey, also known as Patterico, has been living under the cloud of a frivolous,...more

Is The IRS Reading Emails With A Search Warrant?

Last week, the ACLU created a stir when it suggested that the IRS may be reading taxpayers’ emails without obtaining a search warrant. At least at some point in time in the past, according to the IRS’ 2009 “Search Warrant...more

The First Amendment and Off-Label Promotion: United States v. Caronia

For years, the U.S. Department of Justice has aggressively pursued and brought charges over “off-label promotions”—the promotion of drugs for uses that have not received FDA approval—by pharmaceutical manufacturers and their...more

4th Circuit Issues Two Standing Opinions on the Same Day

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals had the opportunity to consider constitutional standing requirements in two very similar cases. The opinions offer some insight into the application of the Lujan test....more

Federal Court in Manhattan “Likes” Service of Process via Facebook

On March 7, 2013, a federal court in Manhattan ruled, in Federal Trade Commission v. PCCare247 Inc., that service via Facebook is an acceptable alternative means of serving court documents on foreign defendants. Although this...more

Federal Judge Orders Service of Process through Facebook

In March, Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York ordered service of process on several international defendants through novel means—Facebook. ...more

Be Careful When Searching Student Cell Phones, Sixth Circuit Warns

With text messages, Tweets, Facebook posts and other digital communications so prevalent in student’s lives, schools have been struggling to deal with the influx of mobile devices on campus. Last week, the Sixth U.S. Circuit...more

Naffe v. Frey, et al.

Reply Brief in Support of Motion to Dismiss First Amended Complaint for Failure to State a Claim (FRCP 12(b)(6))

In his Renewed Motion to Dismiss (“the Motion”), Mr. Frey established that the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) fails utterly, as did its predecessor, to meet the standards required to sustain a lawsuit under Fed. R. Civ. P....more

Boarding School Review, LLC v. Delta Career Education Corp.

Order GRANTING Plaintiff's Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6)

Plaintiff operates a website called Community College Review. It received multiple cease and desist letters, which escalated in the severity of their threats, from counsel for certain institutions about which routine,...more

Jackson Walker's VIA Media Postcard - March 2013

In This Issue: - Chip Babcock Communique: Has the Internet Changed the First Amendment? - Chip Babcock participated in a panel discussion on this topic at a recent American College of Trial Lawyers...more

Court Upholds Executive’s Conviction Stemming from Off-Label Drug Promotion

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld the wire fraud and misbranding convictions and sentence of InterMune Inc. founder W. Scott Harkonen. United States v. Harkonen, No. 11-10209 (9th Cir. March 4, 2013)....more