By Yevgeny Shrago Frank D. LoMonte is the executive director of the Student Press Law Center. Before joiningthe SPLC, he practiced with the law firm of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, he clerked for twofederal judges, and he worked as an investigative journalist and political columnist. When 51-year-old Alabama nursing student Judith Heenan repeatedly complained to her instructors about inequities in the grading and disciplinary system in her graduate program, she anticipated some …
Guest Post: Internet Companies and the Balancing of Free Speech Interests
By Jonathan Peters This is a guest post by Trevor Timm, an activist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He specializes in free speech issues and government transparency. Before joining the EFF, Timm helped the longtime general counsel of the New York Times, James Goodale, write a book on the First Amendment. He has also worked for the former president of the ACLU and at The New Yorker. He graduated from Northeastern University and has a J.D. from New York Law School. Last week, Zeynep …
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Our Quaint Electronic Privacy Protections
By Mark Wilson The email! It burns! The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) is only one year older than my little sister. But at least she knows what email is. The ECPA still does not. In fact, the 1980s Honeywell advertisement at left (“What the heck is Electronic Mail?“) pretty much sums up the current state of constitutional protection for stored electronic communications. …
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Malaysia’s Transsexuals Lose Court Battle to Dress as They Choose
By Sushila Rao The first ever attempt to challenge the constitutionality of an Islamic Syariah(Shariah) ban on cross-dressing has been dismissed by the secular High Court in the Negeri Sembilan province of Malaysia. Article 3 of the Constitution of Malaysia establishes Islam as the “religion of the Federation.” Under the “dual” legal system ordained by Article 121(1A) of the Constitution of Malaysia, “secular” laws apply to all citizens and Islamic or Shariah laws apply only to those …
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California’s Ban on “Ex-Gay” Therapy Challenged on Constitutional Grounds
Its protracted and divisive struggle over the legalization of same-sex marriage notwithstanding, the state of California has taken the lead on another vital issue on the pro-equality agenda—by enacting a legislative ban on so-called “ex-gay” therapy for minors. Effective January 1, 2013, SB 1172 will prohibit children under 18 from undergoing sexual orientation-change efforts (SOCE). Alternatively labeled “conversion therapy,” “reparative therapy,” or “sexual orientation therapy,” SOCE often …
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Ten thousand lakes, under god…
By Hudson Kingston Al Capone famously was successfully prosecuted for tax evasion. This fact reminds us of three distinct truisms: 1. Tax evasion is a crime, and Capone went to prison to eventually die there for his misdeeds; 2. Tax evasion, rather than being something one can harmlessly accuse a presidential candidate of, is likely to be a screen for worse crimes – in Capone’s case he was undoubtedly made his money flouting prohibition, not to mention gangland murder; 3. Since Capone’s …