On February 16, federal magistrate Sheri Pym ordered Apple to assist the FBI in gaining access to information on an iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters. Apple, however, is opposing the order. The company claims that the actions the order would require threaten the security of its customers. In an open letter authored by Apple CEO Tim Cook, the order is described as “dangerous,” “unprecedented,” and “chilling.”
Last week, victims of civil rights abuses by police scored two victories in Massachusetts and New York. In Massachusetts, in Stamps v. Framingham, the federal First Circuit Court of Appeals held that a police officer who holds a loaded gun at the head of a non-threatening, compliant individual, with the gun’s safety off, cannot avoid civil liability for accidentally shooting and killing the individual. In New York, in Held v. Christian, a police officer agreed in a court settlement to pay $45,000 to an individual whose nude photos he stole after taking possession of her cell phone during a routine traffic stop.
Just within this small sampling of recent news, we can see the impact of making a public records request: from having the FBI scramble to keep information hidden to being the seed that grew into a dynamic global campaign. As cliché as it may sound, knowledge is power—whether that’s the power to expose what’s behind the curtain of government entities or the power to inspire communities to take action.
Multinational, multibillion dollar corporation, Skanska, attempts to chill grassroots protest campaign through SLAPP injunctions; No New Animal Lab fights back with anti-SLAPP Special Motion to Strike
Last week, in Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt, a divided Kansas appeals court voted 7-7 to affirm a lower court’s decision to block a controversial Kansas law that essentially criminalized second trimester abortions for women in Kansas.
At the end of last year, the mayors of Eugene, Portland, Los Angeles, and San Francisco gathered to discuss homelessness and climate change. I heard a recording of the mayors discussing the meeting. As I was listening to the mayoral musings, I wondered how genuine the interest really is in understanding the causes of homelessness. [G]iven the mayors agreement in their ignorance surrounding the causes of homelessness, would they really accept conclusions that could condemn the entire system?
Last week, in Kent v Oakland County, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision finding that police officers could not be shielded from a civil rights lawsuit by a victim of excessive police force involving in a taser.
It’s been several months since a Washington State District Court granted four anti-harassment orders against me from Chris Toher, Lew Guerrette, Dave Harrison, and James McReynolds. Now we are finally approaching the culmination of the appeal of those orders, and I am represented by the Executive Director of the Civil Liberties Defense Center and the President of the Seattle Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild as we fight back against the attempt at corporate repression.
With the increasingly abusive Islamophobic response that has been coming from ignorant individuals within the United States, the CLDC will continue to stand strongly with our Muslim and/or Middle Eastern community members.
Last week, in Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin v. Schimel, the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Wisconsin law banning doctors from providing abortions if they don’t have hospital admission privileges within 30 miles.
