Am 29. Juni 2015 hat der Eidgenössische Datenschutz- und Öffentlichkeitsbeauftragte (EDÖB) seinen 22. Tätigkeitsbericht für den Zeitraum 1. April 2014 bis 31. März 2015 veröffentlicht. Der Tätigkeitsbericht umfasst u.a. folgende Themenbereiche (Auswahl):Adressdatenaustausch zwischen Einwohnerregistern, Post und anderen Dateninhabern (Ziff. 1.1.6)Verwendung eines universellen Personenidentifikators im Bereich E-Government (Ziff. 1.1.7)Zentrale Speicherung von Kundenfotos bei Skistationen – Allgemeine Erläuterungen (Ziff. 1.2.3) Videoüberwachung in Fahrzeugen - Dashcams (Ziff. 1.2.4)Open-Government-Data-Strategie des Bundes (Ziff. 1.3.5) Notverkauf von Patientendaten im Rahmen eines Konkurses (Ziff. 1.5.2) Aufbewahrung von Patientenakten in einer Cloud (Ziff. 1.5.5) eHealth – Identifikation der Patienten und Zugriffe auf das ePatientendossier (Ziff. 1.5.6) Datenbekanntgabe durch die Krankenversicherer im…
EDÖB: Tätigkeitsbericht 2014/2015 veröffentlicht
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Human Trafficking Victims Sue Website Used to Conduct Cybersex Sting
An ongoing police operation has led to dozens of arrests on solicitation and human trafficking charges, according to the Providence Police Department and the city's Major Jorge Elorza. Throughout this operation, police have focused on the classified ad Backpage, posing as prostitutes and luring the defendants in. Thanks to recent changes in federal human trafficking laws and the laws of states like Rhode Island and its neighbor, Massachusetts, neither of which prosecute sex workers under the age of 18, there has been an interesting development to come out of this focus on Backpage. Two victims, now 17 and 20, are suing the website for the role it played in their having been sold for sex 1,900 times. The publication has vehemently protested that Backpage, or any other website, could be considered a third party in human trafficking. Suing parties in human trafficking cases through the civil court has been an option…
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News Scan
Second NY Prison Escapee Captured Alive: Relief overwhelmed residents of upstate New York after the second prison escapee was captured alive near the Canadian border on Sunday after 22 days on the run. Fox News reports that law enforcement spotted convicted murderer David Sweat on Sunday afternoon before hitting him with two non-fatal gun shots as he dashed for a line of trees. Sweat's accomplice, Richard Matt, was fatally shot by police last Friday after failing to obey law commands. Sweat will face charges of escape and burglary, among others, when he recovers from his injuries.CA Counties Must Examine Sex Offender Registration: An April ruling by the California Supreme Court overrides justices' earlier decision regarding mandatory sex offender registration that allowed judges to exempt offenders who committed certain child sex crimes from registering, forcing counties to examine their sex offender registration requirements. …
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This Day in Judicial Activism, Death Penalty Edition
The title of this post is taken in part from Ed Whelan's column in NRO's Bench Memos. His observations are especially pertinent to the claim, repeated ad nauseum, that the death penalty is headed for extinction.There was a time when this was true. As Ed reminds us, however, it was 43 years ago. On this very day in 1972, in Furman v. Georgia: ...five justices vote to overturn a death penalty as cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment but can't agree on a rationale. Each of the five justices instead issues his own opinion. Despite the fact that the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments expressly assume the existence of the death penalty, Justices Brennan and Marshall each assert that the death penalty is in every instance an Eighth Amendment violation. This morning, about two generations and 1411 executions later, the Court issued its opinion in Glossip, saying, among many other things (emphasis added):Our decisions in this…
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Installing interlock device and reinstating license following Arizona DUI arrest or conviction.
An issue that causes a lot of problems for drivers that comes up frequently is the difference between privilege to drive and possession of a driver’s license. As far as Arizona MVD is concerned, they are not the same thing. This is an important issue with regard to driver’s who have an out of state driver’s license but are charged with a DUI while in Arizona. Briefly, if a driver with an out of state driver has license has his privilege to drive suspended by Arizona MVD, even if the home state department of motor vehicles does not suspend the driver’s home state license, the driver’s privilege to drive in Arizona is suspended. That means the person can drive anywhere in the world except for Arizona. For example, an Alaska driver is charged with a DUI in Arizona and Arizona MVD suspends the person’s license for the minimum 90 days but Alaska MVD does nothing and the Alaska license remains valid. That driver does not have the privilege to drive…
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Court upholds method of capital punishment
Justice Alito delivered the opinion of the Court in Glossip v. Gross. Justice Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kagan. Justice Breyer also filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Justice Ginsburg, expressing the view that...
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The Left Goes Bonkers, Part II
In my original "The Left Goes Bonkers," I described the theory that the Just Compensation Clause entitles criminals to whitewash their record and fabricate their resumes' by just making stuff up (or composing "from whole cloth," as the theorist candidly acknowledged).I had no idea that, instead of merely whitewashing one's prior stint in prison, the Left would come up with the idea of whitewashing -- or more correctly, eliminating altogether -- prison itself.And no, I am not making this up. The idea is advanced by Prof. Allegra McLeod of (gulp) Georgetown University Law Center. If Prof. McLeod has missed a single liberal shibboleth, I haven't been able to think of it. Below is one paragraph from the abstract of her piece (courtesy of SL&P):[T]his Article explores a form of grounded preventive justice neglected in existing scholarly, legal, and policy accounts. Grounded preventive justice offers a…
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Goldie Hawn’s Ex Accuses Her of Parental Alienation
How could you not fall in love with Goldie Hawn? She was the giggly blonde, with her bikini and body paint on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, a role that launched her career. Do you also remember the Hudson Brothers? Bill, Mark and Brett were three very handsome young men who hit the pop charts in the early 70’s and later appeared on their own television show. Their stars were rising at about the same time that Goldie Hawn’s career took off. Bill and Goldie married in 1976, a marriage that lasted only four years, but produced two talented children, Kate Hudson, age 36, now a famous actress in her own right, and Oliver Hudson, age 38, a model and actor who currently appears in the TV show “Nashville”. Those of you who keep up to date on celebrity activities know that Ms. Hawn began living with Kurt Russell, a successful child actor who made a small fortune for Walt Disney with his ten-year contract. He has had a prolific Hollywood career since that…
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CFPB’s TRID Rule Delayed Again – Uncertainty Persists for Good-Faith Grace Period
The CFPB announced on June 17 that it would delay the effective date of the “Know Before You Owe” rule until October 1, 2015. However, the proposed rule issued by the Bureau on June 25 now delays the effective date to Saturday, October 3, in part because it “may allow for smoother implementation by affording industry time over the weekend to launch new systems configurations and to test systems.” This rule, more commonly called the TRID (TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure) rule, seeks to provide customers a better understanding of their loan product when purchasing a home, while imposing countless new regulatory requirements upon the mortgage lending industry. The CFPB announced that the delay was necessary “[b]ecause of an administrative error on the Bureau’s part in complying with the [Congressional Review Act] with respect to the TILA-RESPA Final Rule.” This “administrative error” was a failure to timely file with Congress…
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Innocence Project and Oregon Innocence Project Cheer New Law Improving Access to DNA Testing
Contact: Steve Wax, (503) 944-2271, wax@oregoninnocence.org Nick Moroni, (212) 364-5371, nmoroni@innocenceproject.org Michelle Feldman, (212) 364-5961, mfeldman@innocenceproject.org (Salem, OR – June 30, 2015) – Gov. Kate Brown signed into law on June 25, 2015 HB 3206, which improve access to DNA testing for those seeking to prove they were wrongly convicted by removing the incarceration requirement and by creating a fairer standard for accessing testing. “This legislation vastly improves the existing law, which has only helped one Oregonian access post-conviction DNA testing that we are aware of,” said Aliza Kaplan, co-founder of the Oregon Innocence Project. “The state legislature and governor should be commended for taking this step to better enable the innocent to get…
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Is the Supreme Court Broken?
In a word… uh, NO. I try to avoid blatant political content on this blog, for a huge number of reasons; these range from simple self-serving concerns, such as I don’t want to lose potential clients just because they disagree with me about politics, to more complex factors, as in I have no clue what to think about political issues most of the time. I’m just too open minded and independent for that. Frankly, it would be silly to decide which lawyer to hire based on their political views. Bad lawyers come in every possible flavor, and so do good ones. Just look at David Boies and Ted Olson, two of the best lawyers in America, from polar opposite ends of the political spectrum, but also close friends. As it should be. They argued against each other in the U.S. Supreme Court on the incredibly significant case of Bush v Gore. They have since joined forces to argue in favor of so-called “Gay Rights.” So go figure. Which brings me to…
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‘Citizen of the year’ awaits sentence in fraud scheme
Mortgage Fraud Blog. A former California real estate developer who bilked millions of dollars from investors had every intention of finishing development projects that went belly-up during the 2007 housing collapse, his attorney argued in court on Monday. But three of the investors said the developer, Kelly Gearhart, knew they would never see their money again and has ruined their lives.The post ‘Citizen of the year’ awaits sentence in fraud scheme appeared first on Mortgage Fraud Blog.
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Petaluma man faces 19 new charges in mortgage fraud case
Mortgage Fraud Blog. A Sonoma County man accused of bilking dozens of distressed homeowners out of tens of thousands of dollars faces 19 new criminal counts. Miguel Angel Lopez now faces a total of 64 criminal counts, not including dozens of enhancement charges, which would add to his prison sentence if convicted. Many of his victims Monday saw the suspect for the first time since his arrest five weeks ago and emotions ran high.The post Petaluma man faces 19 new charges in mortgage fraud case appeared first on Mortgage Fraud Blog.
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Sampson’s power, reach on display in trial
Mortgage Fraud Blog. When Alexander Solomon was assigned to prosecute Edul Ahmad, a Brooklyn real estate agent indicted in a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme in August 2011, he likely had little idea of the shockwaves that would result. Aside from forging the credentials of would-be homebuyers, Ahmad had doled out $188,500 to State Senator John Sampson which, according to prosecutors, Sampson used to cover up years of embezzlement in exchange for granting political favors to Ahmad.The post Sampson’s power, reach on display in trial appeared first on Mortgage Fraud Blog.
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The Wide Net of Drug Trafficking
When people hear the phrase “drug trafficking,” they tend to think of drug lords, wads of cash, and SUVs with trunks full of bags of white powder. Drug dealers get arrested when an undercover police officer infiltrates the gang, and the police descend on the scene of a deal, where there's always a firefight. This is understandable, because that's how drug trafficking is often shown in movies, or in TV shows that people think are fairly accurate, like Law and Order. However, the reality of drug trafficking is much, much more low key. It's important to note, first, that drug trafficking can be either a state or a federal crime, or both. In this post, we're only dealing with drug trafficking in the state of Maine. We'll touch on federal drug crimes in a later article. The state of Maine makes it illegal for people to knowingly “traffick” drugs. The word “traffick,” however, means a lot of different things, and…
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VGer Kanton Bern 100.2013.247U: Abgrenzung des Privateigentums
Das Verwaltungsgericht (VGer) des Kantons Bern hatte im vorliegenden Fall (Urteil 100.2013.247U vom 23. April 2015) im Zusammenhang mit der Kostenverteilung im Rahmen wissenschaftlicher Untersuchungen (insb. Ausgrabungsarbeiten einer Pfahlbauersiedlung) das Bestehen von privatem Grundeigentum zu beurteilen, da dieses eine Voraussetzung der Kostenbeteiligungspflicht (Art. 24 Abs. 3 DPG) ist (E. 3.1 ff.). Das fragliche Gebiet befindet sich im Uferbereich des Bielersees rund um die Bootshafenanlage von Täuffelen. Die Untersuchungen wurden zum grössten Teil auf dem Seeboden durchgeführt. Da die Grenze des fraglichen Grundstückes nicht entlang des Seeufers, sondern bis zu 40 Meter innerhalb der dargestellten Wasserfläche verläuft, führte das dazu, dass die meisten Grabungen auf der im Privateigentum stehenden Parzelle, unterhalb des Seespiegels erfolgten. Strittig war, ob vorliegend ein Eigentumsverlust infolge (dauerhafter) Überflutung (Art.…
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My First Week of Freedom After 10 Years in a Nigerian Jail
By Moses Akatugba, Nigeria When I called my mother from prison to tell her I’d been pardoned after 10 years in jail, she fainted. I was told they had to pour water on her to revive her. Later, when she saw me for the first time after all those years in jail, she grabbed me and held me so tight. She wouldn’t let go for almost 15 minutes. The whole time she had tears of joy streaming from her eyes. Football and juice: celebrating with my death-row friends I was also overwhelmed with joy when I found out about my pardon at 4pm on 28 May. Initially I couldn’t even speak, I was so happy. The day after hearing the news, I celebrated in prison by organizing a football match between death-row inmates and other prison inmates. I’d been the death-row team football coach during my time in prison. We won the match 3-0! Everyone was so happy to play. That Sunday I went to the prison church. I bought some biscuits and fruit juice to share with other inmates in church…
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Tyler, Jackson & Mentovich on Potential Pitfalls of Proactive Police Contact
Tom Tyler , Jonathan Jackson and Avital Mentovich (Yale University - Law School , London School of Economics & Political Science - Department of Methodology and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Department of Psychology) has posted The Consequences...
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Florida Appeals Court Addresses Criminal Prosecution of Defendant Nearly Seven Years After Allegedly Fleeing Scene of Crime
Statutes of limitations are deadlines for filing a lawsuit. In criminal cases, a prosecutor cannot charge someone with a crime committed more than a certain period of time in the past. In a recent case, the 2d District Court of Appeal addressed the statute of limitations for prosecuting a crime of leaving the scene of a car accident that results in death or injury. The defendant, Mr. Escalante, sought a writ of prohibition to prevent the trial court from moving forward with his prosecution. He argued that the statute of limitations, or time period for bringing the charges, had expired. In this case, the limited record before the court included allegations that in September 2005, Mr. Escalante struck a parked car. That struck car was parked in front of a parked truck, and at the time of the accident, a man had been standing between the two parked vehicles. He was fatally injured, and allegedly Mr. Escalante fled the scene. Months later, the sheriff…
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From the Inside: How the Innocence Project Changed the Life of One High School Senior
By Adrienne Travis Adrienne recently graduated from high school at Scarsdale High School and completed an internship at the Innocence Project. We congratulate her and thank her for her hard work. All I expected from my senior year internship was a glance into the legal system and to see how the Innocence Project operates. Instead, I’ve reached a deeper understanding of what the law and our criminal justice system can be, and I’ve learned so much about First, the experiences of the current clients at the Innocence Project have reiterated to me how flawed our legal system can be. Coming into this internship I thought people were wrongfully convicted because all the evidence pointed at them, and even if it was a rushed decision, there was a reason behind why they were convicted. Now, after reading cases and speaking to employees I realize that in a lot of these cases nothing points to the convicted other than one person’s testimony or a tainted…
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