Fourth Circuit Slams Juror’s Use of Wikipedia—US v. Lawson
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] US v. Lawson, 10-4831 (4th Cir.; Apr. 20, 2012) Lawson and his co-defendants were convicted of violating the “Animal Welfare Act” through their participation in “gamefowl derbies” (cockfighting). One of the elements of the crime was…
Court Orders Disclosure of Psychic Chat Records in Retaliation Case – Glazer v. Fireman’s Fund
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Glazer v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., 11 Civ. 4374 (PGG) (FM) (S.D.N.Y.; Apr. 4, 2012). The complaint. Glazer (her LinkedIn page) sued Fireman’s Fund Insurance, alleging that Fireman’s Fund retaliated against her because she complained about…
Circumstantial Authentication Strikes Again in a MySpace Evidence Case — State v. Tienda
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Tienda v. Texas, 358 S.W.3d 633 (Tx. Ct. Crim. App.; Feb. 8, 2012) This is another MySpace evidence case. Defendant was convicted of murder. The victim exchanged words with a group of people outside a nightclub,…
What Do Soymilk and Nutella Have to Do With an Online Harassment Case?–Taylor v. Texas
By Eric Goldman Taylor v. State, 2012 WL 955383 (Tex. App. Ct. March 22, 2012) In service of you, the reader, I read a lot of cases to find the ones worth blogging. Inevitably, some of those cases are gross….
Jan.-Feb. 2012 Quick Links, Part 4 (Evidence Edition)
By Eric Goldman * E.E.O.C. v. Management Hospitality of Racine, Inc., 2012 WL 37112 (7th Cir. Jan. 9, 2012): “The Defendants also suggest that Shisler was not subjectively offended by Gutierrez’s crude comments because her MySpace page contained a sexually…
Courts Continue to Grapple with Discovery Disputes Around Social Networking Evidence
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Tompkins v. Detroit Metro Airport, 10-10413 (E.D. Mich.; Jan. 18, 2012) This is a slip and fall case where the plaintiff alleges that injuries she suffered at Detroit’s Metro airport affected her quality of life and…
Employee Wins Harassment Claim Based in Part on Co-Workers’ Offsite Blog Posts–Espinoza v. Orange
By Eric Goldman Espinoza v. County of Orange, 2012 WL 420149 (Cal. App. Ct. February 9, 2012) Espinoza was born with an incomplete hand. In 1996, he started working for the county probations department. In 2006, a co-worker started two…
Top Internet Law Developments of 2011
By Eric Goldman As usual, I’m running late with my year-end recap. This post begins with my countdown of the top 5 Internet Law developments of 2011, then it lists other interesting developments and cases. It concludes with some of…
Facebook Boasts/Taunts Undermine the Legal Defense for a Fight at a House Party–In re DLW
By Eric Goldman In the Matter of the Welfare of: D.L.W., Child, 2012 WL 171412 (Minn. App. Ct. Jan. 23, 2012) The opinion indicates the following facts: BP supplied DLW with $200 of dope for resale. Before DLW could move…
Connecticut Supreme Court Says no Error in Admission of Facebook Photos at Probation Hearing — State v. Altajir
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] State v. Altajir, SC 18706 (Conn. Supreme Ct.; Jan. 3, 2012) Altajir was involved in an automobile accident while she was under the influence. One of her passengers died. She was sentenced to five years in…