MSBA Computer and Technology Law Section

Federal Courts Test Waters of Distributing Audio

In a move that is somewhat aligned to providing digital access to transcripts, the Federal Courts have begun a pilot project of placing digital audio of courtroom hearings online.  The Seventh Circuit is even providing an RSS feed of its oral arguments. This month's Federal Lawyer details some of the test courts, and the prospect of accessing audio of hearings does seem appealing.  At the same time, though, it seems like transcripts -- with their searchability and skimability -- would be a more often-used tool for busy lawyers. That said, obtaining the audio afterward would certainly help explain some ambiguity as speech is translated to black-and-white.  Cameras in the courtroom continue to be a hot topic, but microphones are old hat. Let's hope that the trend spreads. Podcasting your favorite attorney/judge/client, anyone?

Federal Judiciary Press Release (via Michael J. Tonsing, Federal Court Hearings on Your MP3 Player? Dude!, The Federal Lawyer at 10-11, Sept. 2007)

Federal Courts to Provide PACER Access to Transcripts

In great news for those who seek transparency in our legal system, the U.S. Judicial Conference voted to provide transcripts of all federal court proceedings through PACER, at $.08/page.  They will be available 90 days after delivery to the clerk. Presumably, this delay will ensure that the hard-working reporters will still be adequately paid for their work, by the parties involved in the litigation.

The relevant portion of the Judiciary's press release:

The Judicial Conference of the United States today voted to make transcripts of federal district and bankruptcy court proceedings available online through the Judiciary's Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system.

Under the new policy, transcripts created by court reporters or transcribers will be available for inspection and copying in a clerk of court’s office and for download from PACER 90 days after they are delivered to the clerk. Individuals will be able to view, download, or print a copy of a transcript from PACER for eight cents per page.

During the initial 90-day period, transcripts will be available at the clerk’s office for inspection only, or may be purchased from the court reporter or transcriber.

Implementation of the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system over the past decade has allowed remote electronic access to most federal case files. The only type of court document not yet publicly available online nationwide has been the transcript of court proceedings.

Transcripts of Federal Court Proceedings Nationwide To Be Available Online (via Robert Ambrogi's LawSites).

North Dakota Provides e-Access to Bar Disciplinary Proceedings

Some believe strongly that open access to case information, such as bar disciplinary proceedings, is necessary in order to determine whether self-regulation adequately serves the public interest. See, e.g., Attorney Discipline Web Data Uneven, Nat'l Law Review, Sept. 10, 2007.

A Web site maintained by the North Dakota Supreme Court provides a statement of issues and briefs in advance of oral arguments and then the audio of oral arguments afterwards. Click here for one case example.

For related topics, see also Availability of Online Resources May Be One Reason for Reduction in U.S. S.Ct. Caseload and Google aids public record accessibility.

Evidence Obtained Through Spyware May Be Admissible

A word to the wise: you can bring in evidence intercepted through spyware, but you will probably end up paying for it -- civilly and criminally.  In a matrimonial action, a federal court held that a husband was not prohibited from using evidence garnered through his installation of spyware on a machine that he and his wife owned and used. Potter v. Havlicek, No. 3:06-cv-211, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10677, 2007 WL 539534 (S.D. Ohio Feb. 14, 2007). The husband installed keylogger software and a program that took screenshots, and he also accessed e-mails where his wife had selected the "remember me" function.  The wife asserted violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2510 -2522 (“ECPA”), the Stored Communications Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2701 -2712, and a state wiretap statute.

The court held that although the ECPA prohibits interception of electronic communications, it does not enjoin or permit suppression of evidence obtained through interception of electronic communications. That said, the court held that the wife had shown a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of her ECPA claim. 

Moral of the story: spyware isn't just for strangers any more.  Beware what you type.

Full Text of the opinion: http://www.thelen.com/tlu/PotterVHavlicek.pdf

One Reason Not to Impersonate a Lawyer

In this article, published on NetworkWorld.com, a Las Vegas man is facing the possibility of 20 years' prison time for impersonating an IP lawyer and sending emails to domain registrants, threatening domain name lawsuits unless they transferred the domain name registration within 2 days.  He has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, and the plea agreement contemplates probation to six months jail.

So, not only do we have cybersquatters out there, but we also have cyber lawyer impersonators, appearing to fight the cybersquatters...of course for personal, illegal gain.  An interesting twist to some of the greedy practices used on the Internet, and another Internet practice of which domain registrants should be wary.

Alhtough not very informative, but somehow indulgent, are the comments shown at the end of the article.