Senate Democrats Unwilling To Fight Widely-Opposed GOP Nominee To Legal Services Corporation. Lawyers for conservative evangelical groups have never been bolder, and their ideological brethren dominate the U.S. Supreme Court. Where are the lawyers and social workers who fight the War on Poverty? Why won’t Congress free the Legal Services Corporation from the onerous regulations that stop them from helping economically disadantaged communities?
March 8, 2010
March 1, 2010
Open Source Law Office | LSNTAP
Open Source Law Office | LSNTAP. Okay! Here is the updated announcement about our open source law office on the Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project. These are folks committed to using free code to make the economy and the justice system more fair. I’m paraphrasing their mission I expect, but I’ve done so in the spirit of charity!
April 18, 2009
EFF Argues Against Proxy Server Use as Basis for Federal Sentencing Enhancement
Hugh D’Andrade reports for Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Last month, the US Sentencing Commission considered new sentencing guidelines that would classify the use of proxy servers as “sophisticated means” when used in the commission of a crime, thus requiring extra prison time. EFF spoke out against these guidelines, sending Staff Technologist Seth Schoen to appear before the Commission to argue (PDF) that the use of anonymizing technologies is a widespread practice that requires no special knowledge or skills.
Happily, it appears the Commission has decided, at least for now, not to classify the use of proxies as a sign of sophistication.
As Schoen told the Commission, “While proxies may be an advanced technology, using a proxy is often no more difficult than using Microsoft Word. Many kinds of people use proxies for all sorts of legitimate purposes, so only a court can reliably assess which uses are truly employed as a ’sophisticated means’ of committing a crime and which are for privacy, free speech or some other innocent purpose.”
EFF is not declaring victory on this issue just yet. We look forward to hearing the reasoning behind the Comission’s ruling, and to seeing what revisions to the amendment they plan to propose. Today’s ruling is undoubtedly a step forward, and we applaud the Commission for their decision.
This is just one area where we’re watching closely to ensure that common Internet practices are not regarded as criminal by the government. EFF’s work is ongoing in a case in which Boston College Campus Police cited a student’s computer skills as evidence of wrongdoing.
March 23, 2009
Word Press in Missoula Courtroom for Grace Trial
The law school and the journalism school are helping report on the U.S. Attorney’s prosecution of W.R. Grace and five officials for criminal offenses.
I understand but have not personally confirmed that U.S. District Judge Molloy gave permission (rare) for reporters inside the courtroom to keep their cell phones and/or laptops turned on so twittering may occur.
Here’s one news story among many describing the revolutionary coverage of this federal trial:
http://www.newwest.net/city/article/um_journalists_cover_wr_grace_trial_in_real_time/C8/L8/
Here’s a link to the blog itself:
http://blog.umt.edu/gracecase/
Still no Creative Commons license for the content, but change comes slow. This is still an amazing use of Word Press.
November 4, 2008
FCC Opens Radio Spectrum
5-0 FCC VOTE FREES “WHITE SPACES” TO PROMOTE LOW-COST, HIGH-SPEED INTERNET ACCESS
Reported by Matt Richtel for The New York Times.
Over the objections of television broadcasters and other groups, federal regulators set aside a disputed slice of radio spectrum for public use on Tuesday, hoping it would lead to low-cost, high-speed Internet access and new wireless devices.
The Federal Communications Commission voted 5 to 0 to approve the new use for the unlicensed frequencies, known as white spaces.A coalition of powerful groups, including broadcasters, Broadway theater producers and sports franchises, hoped to derail or delay the decision. They have argued that their own transmissions — whether from television signals or from wireless microphones used in live music performances — could face interference from new devices that use the white spaces.
But F.C.C. commissioners said in a public meeting on Tuesday that they were confident that enough testing had been done to assure them that interference was not a major risk. “It’s fair to say few other engineering analyses at the F.C.C. have been as lengthy and open,” said Michael J. Copps, a commissioner.
Echoing the views of other commissioners, he added that the measure could lead to development of a new generation of devices that use the spectrum to provide Internet access. Commissioners said such access could be more reliable than Wi-Fi, which also uses unlicensed frequencies but does not reach as far.