Texas Appellate Court Erases Court Order To Erase Google Search Results
The Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline initiated a proceeding against lawyer Calvin Jackson of League City, Texas, but the commission later changed its mind and dropped the suit. Jackson then asked to expunge the action (what the court calls “expunction,”…
Revenge Porn/Cyberstalking Conviction Doesn’t Violate First Amendment–US v. Osinger
V.B. and Osinger had a relationship. When it terminated, he continued to contact her in a variety of ways (email, text, etc.). They originally lived in Illinois, but V.B. moved to California, where she accepted a job. Before she moved,…
Police Officers Aren’t Liable For Investigating Cyberstalking and Revenge Porn–Keaton v. Hannum
Keaton is an Indiana lawyer who was charged with stalking and otherwise harassing his ex-girlfriend, Zook (then a law student). When she broke it off, Keaton continued to contact her. When she changed her phone number, he engaged a private…
Want To Scrub Google Search Results In The US? Tough–O’Kroley v. Fastcase
I’m choosing to live in a parallel universe where the ECJ’s Google scrub-search-results ruling simply doesn’t exist. I know it’s a fantasy world, but I’m happier there. Fortunately, here in the US, the ECJ ruling couldn’t happen. The First Amendment…
College Review Website Ordered To Pay $1M For Users’ Disparaging Reviews–Neumont University v. Little Bizzy
Before the headline freaks you out too much, let me highlight the most important fact: this is a default ruling. The defendant was a company but it says it couldn’t find cost-effective counsel, so the company’s principal tried to defend…
Facebook Post Isn’t Good Reason To Remove Attorney From Probate Court Case Assignment List
Butler is an attorney licensed in Michigan. She enrolled on the list to receive case assignments from Washtenaw County Probate Court. While she was on the list and receiving assignments, she made a post to Facebook regarding the performance of…
Fair Use Protects Video Republication To Demonstrate Speaker’s Inconsistent Statements–Caner v. Autry
As recounted by the court’s order, Caner was raised in Ohio. His father was a devout Muslim. After his parents divorced, Caner “spent weekend visitation at the mosque in Columbus, Ohio.” At some point, Caner started attending a church and…
Don’t Roll The Dice On Defamation Suits Against Gripe Sites, Especially In California–Ocean’s Eleven v. Anders
This case involves the now defunct website www.oceans11.info. There’s one archival version in Archive.org from 2012, though I found it confusing. The website was a gripe site created by Tim Anders (a/k/a “Dr. Hope“), a professional poker player. Anders protested…
Dead Sea Scrolls Impersonation Case Convictions Partially Affirmed
I previously blogged about the Dead Sea Scrolls impersonation and harassment case, involving some rather elaborate schemes implemented by the son of Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Norman Golb. (“Conviction Upheld for Impersonating Dead Sea Scrolls Scholars by Sending Out Emails…
Linking to Defamatory Content Protected by Section 230—Vazquez v. Buhl
Teri Buhl posted allegedly defamatory content about Vazquez to the Internet. A CNBC editor linked to that post in an article entitled “The Sex and Money Scandal Rocking Hedge Fund Land.” The CNBC article characterized Buhl as a “veteran financial…