Sat.May 01, 2021 - Fri.May 07, 2021

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When Forensic Evidence Convicts the Innocent

The Crime Report

Errors and unreliable science can undermine “every step” of the process of collecting forensic evidence, and it should be kept out of the courtroom until research confirms its validity. That was the consensus of experts gathered for a recent webinar organized by the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice.

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Prisoners Enforcing their Rights

Patently O

Here is the outcome of a twitter poll on prisoner lawsuits. The poll was prompted by the pending lawsuit of Tormasi v. Western Digital. Tormasi is a patentee and has sued Western Digital for patent infringement. The district court dismissed his case and that finding was affirmed by the Federal Circuit. Both courts held that as a prisoner in N.J. state prison, Tormasi has lost his right to conduct any business, including enforce his patent rights.

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EU lawmakers reach deal to protect children from online sexual abuse

JURIST

Negotiators from the European Council and Parliament have reached a provisional agreement to temporarily allow electronic communications services such as Facebook and Microsoft to scan for and remove online sexual abuse, according to a press release Thursday. This agreement, which is set to further cover anti-grooming, will be implemented until permanent legislation is announced by the European Commission to replace it.

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Ninth Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to LAPD Detectives Who Used Psychological Torture to Get a False Confession From a 13 Year-Old

EvidenceProf Blog

The qualified immunity doctrine insulates governmental agents from liability for unconstitutional acts as long “as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” The primary purpose of the doctrine.

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Recipe for a Failed CLM Implementation

Selecting and implementing CLM technology can be daunting, leading to underutilization or abandonment. Factors like provider differentiation, inadequate planning, and lack of user training contribute to these failures. Recognizing these pitfalls is crucial for successful adoption, ensuring organizations harness the full potential of CLM for streamlined contract management.

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A 50 State Court Covid-19 Operations List

CourtTechBulletin

The Justia legal information company has posted a compendium of state court Covid-19 operations in all 50 states. They write that “State court systems across the country have significantly altered their operations in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Many courts initially limited proceedings to only the most essential and urgent matters, such as arraignments and restraining order hearings.

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More Trending

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Qatar orders arrest of finance minister on corruption charges

JURIST

The state Qatar News Agency announced Thursday that the Qatari attorney general has ordered the arrest of Finance Minister Ali Sharif al-Emadi on charges related to the abuse of his office. The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Ali bin Ahmed Al-Kuwari, was announced as al-Emadi’s immediate replacement. Al-Emadi had served in a variety of roles in the Qatari government and financial sector, including serving as the chairman of the Qatar National Bank and on the board of the powerful Qatar Invest

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From “Recycled” to “Green,” Consumers are Being Influenced by Marketers’ Sustainability Buzzwords

The Fashion Law

Sustainability, alone, does not determine consumer purchasing behavior, but “it is of growing importance,” a new joint report revealed, finding that 94 percent of consumers say a more sustainable lifestyle is important to them and with 47 percent saying that they would pay more for “sustainable” products. According to a new study, Sustainability & Consumerism: U.S.

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Big Move: US Supports IP Waiver for COVID Vaccine

Patently O

by Dennis Crouch. In the USA, COVID vaccines have been widely distributed and are now available at no cost almost on-demand for anyone seeking vaccination. Vaccines are not widely available in most other countries and global COVID cases are again at an all-time high. And, people around the world don’t really trust that Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J are going to be serving them anytime soon.

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FCC Needs More ‘Courage’ in Curbing Prison Phone Costs: Advocates

The Crime Report

photo by muckrock via Flickr. A Federal Communication Commission (FCC) order to cap phone rates for incarcerees is “too little…for too few,” say supporters of the Prison Phone Justice campaign. Calling the April 29 draft decision a welcome step in reducing the costs for inmates and their families, members of the coalition of civil rights activists lobbying for reform say the FCC needs to show more ”courage” in pushing back on the private companies who charge what they have called exorbitant fees

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Contract Lifecycle Management: A Business Enabler Exploring On-Ground Challenges

CLM tools have always strived to push contract management into the digital age for almost 30 years. But the complexities of digitising a legal document are numerous. The current scenarios in business development have shown that having a fully automated CLM has become a mandate for every law firm and in-house legal department. To determine if you need a CLM system, it's essential to clearly identify the on-ground business challenges you aim to solve.

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Supreme Court of Canada rules police officers cannot sue Crown prosecutors for misfeasance

JURIST

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) on Friday held that police officers cannot sue Crown prosecutors over actions they claim damaged their reputation. In an 8-1 decision, the SCC found that the police cannot sue Crown prosecutors for misfeasance, the wrongful exercise of lawful authority. This decision reinforces the mutually independent relationship between the police and the Crown.

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NFTs Are Booming, But They Are More Than an Art (or Fashion) Fad

The Fashion Law

Sotheby became one of the latest establishment names in art to dive into non-fungible tokens – “NFTs” – by way of its collaboration with anonymous digital artist Pak and NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway. The auction house sold The Fungible Collection , a “novel collection of digital art redefining our understanding of value,” for more than $17 million , with some pieces, such as “The Switch,” a monochrome 3D construction that is going to be changed by the artist at some unspecified moment in the fu

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Law School Canons: The Spoils of Discovery

Patently O

Editor’s Note: Avery Welker is a 1L at Mizzou and likely a future patent attorney. He is starting a new series linking law school canonical cases with intellectual property counterparts. You can email ideas for future posts to avery@patentlyo.com. – Dennis Crouch. By Avery Welker. The first line of class notes I took in Civil Procedure during our discovery module says, “Spoliation – OLD LEGAL DOCTRINE.

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Incarceration in the Deep South: ‘The Long Road to Nowhere’

The Crime Report

The states of the Deep South are America’s most determined jailers, reflecting the “tough on crime” ethos of policymakers, where more individuals are behind bars for longer periods than most other places in the country, says the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). According to the SPLC, the population of Southern prisons expanded 127 percent between 1990 and 2019, while the overall U.S. incarcerated population grew by 86 percent in the same period.

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California Civil Discovery Act Undergoes Significant Overhaul

Short article looking at the new CCP 2016.

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Federal appeals court allows Navajo Nation water supply claim against Interior Department to go forward

JURIST

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday revived a 2003 breach of trust claim by the Navajo Nation that would require the US government to allocate water for the tribe. Going forward, this case will look at whether the government has a fiduciary duty to ensure that the amount of water supplied to the tribe is sufficient “to fulfill the promise of establishing a Navajo Reservation as a homeland for the Nation’s people.”.

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Arizona Licenses First Three Alternative Business Structures for Delivering Legal Services

LawSites

The Arizona Supreme Court has approved the first three entities to be licensed as alternative business structures, enabling businesses owned by non-lawyers to deliver legal services under the liberalized licensing rules the court approved last August. On March 17, 2021, the court entered orders approving two ABS entities: Trajan Estate, LLC , a legal service provider focused on estate planning.

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How Tech Can Help In-house Legal Teams Work More Efficiently

LegalReader

Legal can benefit from implementing tech to move faster and collaborate with the business… And, this can help them save time and redirect their focus towards the work that really matters.

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Youth Justice System Punishes Poverty: Study

The Crime Report

A report from the North Carolina Poverty Research Fund at the UNC School of Law provides a powerful explanation of the ways that race and poverty impact teenagers involved in the juvenile justice system. . Through a series of interviews and surveys with advocates, attorneys, and experts, Gene Nichol and Heather Hunt uncovered how the juvenile justice system frequently punishes poverty through a cycle of economic consequences, pushing families further into an economic crisis while pushing the chi

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Dangers of Digital "Reporting": Legal Risks and Unreliable Transcripts

In the world of legal proceedings, the choice between a certified stenographer and digital "reporting" holds significant implications. Certified stenographers go through rigorous training and testing and stand as the gold standard for accuracy in capturing every word. Their expertise ensures a reliable record, a crucial foundation for legal cases.

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Canada sued over COVID-era policy that turns away asylum seekers at US border

JURIST

The Canadian government is being sued over its pandemic-era policy of turning back asylum seekers attempting to enter the country at official border crossings. The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL) filed a legal challenge on Tuesday against the Federal government’s decision to restrict access through the Canada-US border, citing in a statement “the severe harm faced by refugee claimants” who have been denied access and turned away.

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Invention of a Slave: 2021 Redux

Patently O

by Dennis Crouch. Tormasi v. Western Digital , Docket No. 20-1396 (Supreme Court 2021). Walter Tormasi is a prisoner in the New Jersey state prison system. He is serving a life sentence for murdering his mother when he was 16 years old after apparently receiving encouragement from his father, Attila. Tormasi is also a patentee. His U.S. Patent No. 7,324,301 covers a computer hard-drive that allows for “simultaneously and independently” reading and/or writing on different carrier sur

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The Future of Lawyers – Legal Tech, AI, Big Data, and Online Courts

LegalReader

It’s certainly apparent that legal tech, AI, Big Data, and Online Courts are transforming the way one sees and makes use of the legal industry today. .

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COVID-Era Decrease in Prison Populations Increases HIV Risk: Study

The Crime Report

A new study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy has found that without careful and deliberate mitigation efforts, criminal justice reforms that result in large, rapid decreases in incarceration rates can lead to an increased risk of HIV spread through communities, reports the Brookings Institution. Simulations conducted in five different metropolitan areas indicate that criminal justice reform policies that result in extensive reductions in incarceration rates increase relation

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Optimizing Contract Management and Enhancing Team Collaboration: Insights from a Legal Operations Perspective

Speaker: Adina Marta Newman

Learn about a world of effective contract management and seamless teamwork across departments in this upcoming webinar from Cobblestone Software. You'll discover practical strategies and tips that legal professionals can use to streamline contract processes and enhance collaboration, making significant impact across legal and corporate departments. Join us as we show how you can supercharge contract processes, improve team communication, and take your contributions to the next level.

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European Commission charges Apple with antitrust violations in music-streaming market

JURIST

The European Commission on Friday announced it has charged Apple and the App Store with antitrust violations in the music-streaming market. In its Statement of Objections , the commission states the company “distorted competition in the music streaming market as it abused its dominant position for the distribution of music streaming apps.” The charge concerns mandatory use of an in-app purchase mechanism that Apple imposes on other music-streaming developers in order to distribute th

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WATCH: Dealing with Negative Google Reviews in Law Practice

LawTechnologyToday

WATCH ON YOUTUBE. Speaker: Graham Anderson, Vice President of Sales at Kenect. Getting a negative Google review can be frustrating, annoying, and downright damaging to your law firm. In 2021, Google rankings are almost entirely determined by the reviews you get. And so a negative review can seriously impact your firm. In this webinar we’ll discuss everything related to negative Google reviews: how to avoid them, how to respond to them, what NOT to do when you get one, and most importantly, how t

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Kids and Boating Safety: 4 Tips

LegalReader

The water can be a fun and exciting place full of adventure for children, but only if you take the appropriate precautions to protect them.

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Discovery of Prior Settlement Agreements and Common Interest Privilege

Patently O

by Dennis Crouch. In re Modern Font Applications LLC ( Fed. Cir. 2021 ). The Federal Circuit denied MFA’s petition for mandamus on a discovery dispute, and Chief Judge Prost but wrote an interesting short opinion explaining the panel’s reasoning. In the case, MFA has asserted its U.S. Patent No. 9,886,421 that covers a method of displaying “non-standard fonts” on your handheld device when accessing a network-document.

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Visibility Into the Strategy & Supporting Documents of Major US Law Firms

Law Firm Intelligence by Trellis aggregates state trial court data across the Trellis platform enabling users to: look up a particular metric related to a specific law firm (such as, how many cases a law firm had or has against another law firm), and see the actual dockets and documents supporting the metric. Trellis data is maximized in a revolutionary and unique way to provide users an exclusive look into a law firm litigating in state trial courts.