Balough
December 13, 2013
A blogger who allows others to post messages on his site is not a “publisher” of defamatory statements, thanks to the Communications Decency Act, a Pennsylvania District Court found. The court dismissed a libel action against Tucker Max, a Duke Law School graduate, who describes his goal in life to be “a celebrity that gets […]
Balough
December 13, 2013
An NBC5 Chicago Special Report on the City of Chicago’s use of cameras that keep track of everyday public movements included an interview with Richard C. Balough as an expert on privacy law. Entitled “What’s on Tape? Chicago Using New Camera Technology,” the special report by Anna Davlantes explored the technology and legal implications of […]
Balough
December 13, 2013
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department was out of step when it loaded the RUMBA program into all of its 6,000 computers when it had a license for only half that number, making it liable for copyright infringement. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the jury’s finding and rejected claims by the LASD that loading […]
Balough
December 13, 2013
It is protected speech for players to criticize their high school basketball coach but the players’ refusal to play in the game is not. However, whether the school can permanently ban the students from the team depends upon if the ban is based upon the students’ exercise of their free speech rights or their refusal […]
Balough
December 13, 2013
It’s OK again to heckle a referee in Georgia-thanks to the Georgia Supreme Court. The Georgia Supreme Court struck down a law that made it a misdemeanor if a person “recklessly or knowingly commits any act which may reasonably be expected to prevent or disrupt a lawful meeting, gathering, or procession.” The court found that […]
Balough
December 13, 2013
A high school can ban a t-shirt that displays a purportedly religious message against homosexuality in response to a day intended to “teach tolerance of others, particularly those of a different sexual orientation.” The t-shirt read “BE ASHAMED, OUR SCHOOL EMBRACED WHAT GOD HAS CONDEMNED” on the front and “HOMOSEXUALITY IS SHAMEFUL” on the back. […]
Balough
December 13, 2013
An invention promotion operator must pay $26 million in consumer redress and stop its deceptive marketing practices. The firm failed to disclose, among other things, that it made very little money from invention royalties and the majority of its money from fees charged to the inventors. The court found that either expressly or by implication […]
Balough
December 13, 2013
It may not be another bowl loss, but Notre Dame lost its bid to stop a taxpayer from pursuing the university for funds it received for training teachers for Catholic schools in violation of the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution. The Seventh Circuit found that a taxpayer can continue its lawsuit to have Notre […]
Balough
December 13, 2013
The “pandering” provisions of the federal child pornography law are unconstitutionally overly-broad and vague, the Eleventh Circuit found, reversing a conviction under the statute. The PROTECT Act, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2252A(a)(3)(B) provides that it is a crime for any person to advertise, promote, distribute or solicit “any material or purported material in a manner that […]
Balough
December 13, 2013
A fired church music director cannot use the federal courts to sue for age discrimination, the Seventh Circuit affirmed. The court ruled that the selection of music at church is religious in nature. As a result, the First Amendment bars the music director’s suit against the church for age discrimination. The case was filed after […]
