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Before you commit to a time-consuming surveillance to figure out where
someone works, check this nationwide employment locator. The Federal
Election Comm...
Friday, April 29, 2011
Private Investigator News: Ballots are public records, Vermont Supreme Court rules
"Election ballots and tally sheets are public records and must be open to inspection, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled Friday in rejecting arguments by the town of Fairlee and the Attorney General’s Office.
Preserving the integrity of elections requires ballots to be sealed and inaccessible to the public for three months, as the law requires, the justices wrote in a 4-1 opinion. After those 90 days pass, the law allows clerks to destroy election material — but if a clerk doesn’t, ballots and tally sheets are the public’s records to inspect, the court concluded."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Preserving the integrity of elections requires ballots to be sealed and inaccessible to the public for three months, as the law requires, the justices wrote in a 4-1 opinion. After those 90 days pass, the law allows clerks to destroy election material — but if a clerk doesn’t, ballots and tally sheets are the public’s records to inspect, the court concluded."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Louisiana AG says officials’ emails protected
"Personal emails written by government officials on their taxpayer-owned computers are exempt from public disclosure, Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell wrote in an opinion released Thursday.
Robert Barham, secretary of the state Wildlife and Fisheries, said he asked for the attorney general’s opinion.
Former state Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner Murphy Painter had sought emails written by agency employee Kelli Suire, he said. Suire had alleged in a lawsuit that Painter had sexually harassed her when she worked for him."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Robert Barham, secretary of the state Wildlife and Fisheries, said he asked for the attorney general’s opinion.
Former state Alcohol and Tobacco Control Commissioner Murphy Painter had sought emails written by agency employee Kelli Suire, he said. Suire had alleged in a lawsuit that Painter had sexually harassed her when she worked for him."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Michigan State Police can secretly search other's cellphones
"Several years ago, MSP acquired portable devices that have the potential to quickly download data from cell phones without the owner of the cellphone knowing.
The ACLU of Michigan expressed concern about the possible constitutional implications of using these devices to conduct suspicionless searches without consent or a search warrant.
In August 2008, the ACLU of Michigan filed its first FOIA request to acquire records, reports and logs of actual use.
Documents provided in response confirmed the existence of these devices, but MSP claimed that the cost of retrieving and assembling the documents that disclose how five of the devices are being used is $544,680. The ACLU was then asked to pay a $272,340 deposit before the organization could receive a single document."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
The ACLU of Michigan expressed concern about the possible constitutional implications of using these devices to conduct suspicionless searches without consent or a search warrant.
In August 2008, the ACLU of Michigan filed its first FOIA request to acquire records, reports and logs of actual use.
Documents provided in response confirmed the existence of these devices, but MSP claimed that the cost of retrieving and assembling the documents that disclose how five of the devices are being used is $544,680. The ACLU was then asked to pay a $272,340 deposit before the organization could receive a single document."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
New Mexico State agencies must fork over digital records
"A new law will require New Mexico government agencies to provide public records electronically if the records exist in digital form.
The measure, which passed both the House and Senate unanimously, goes into effect July 1. Gov. Susana Martinez signed it into law Friday.
The bill's sponsors said they and their constituents had problems in the past with some agencies or departments not wanting to send records in an email or download them to a CD."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
The measure, which passed both the House and Senate unanimously, goes into effect July 1. Gov. Susana Martinez signed it into law Friday.
The bill's sponsors said they and their constituents had problems in the past with some agencies or departments not wanting to send records in an email or download them to a CD."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Private Investigator News: Crime scene video is a public record in Florida
"Visual evidence of crime scenes can be deeply unsettling to watch, particularly for the families of victims. Nevertheless, it is part of the official public record of criminal investigations and therefore subject to Florida’s open-records laws.
Two bills currently in the Legislature aim to short-circuit the public's right to know on those matters.
The legislation (HB 411 in the House and SB 416 in the Senate) would exempt from public records the photographs, video and audio recordings that capture a murder in order to protect victims’ families from the emotional pain of seeing their loved one’s death posted broadcast on TV or posted on the Internet."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Two bills currently in the Legislature aim to short-circuit the public's right to know on those matters.
The legislation (HB 411 in the House and SB 416 in the Senate) would exempt from public records the photographs, video and audio recordings that capture a murder in order to protect victims’ families from the emotional pain of seeing their loved one’s death posted broadcast on TV or posted on the Internet."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Monday, April 11, 2011
Funding for Wisconsin public court records access threatened
"Wisconsin court officials fear the court's data management system, including a popular site that allows anyone to easily look up the criminal records of friends and neighbors, could be on shaky ground if the governor's proposed budget breaks up its funding mechanism."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Facing a judge? Study says go early or after lunch
"If you have to face a judge, try for first thing in the morning or right after lunch. A new study suggests that's when they're most lenient.
Seeking to test the idea that justice depends on 'what the judge ate for breakfast,' researchers studied 1,112 rulings by Israeli judges who were presiding over boards deciding whether to grant parole to prisoners.
'We find that the likelihood of a favorable ruling is greater at the very beginning of the work day or after a food break than later in the sequence of cases,' the researchers report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Seeking to test the idea that justice depends on 'what the judge ate for breakfast,' researchers studied 1,112 rulings by Israeli judges who were presiding over boards deciding whether to grant parole to prisoners.
'We find that the likelihood of a favorable ruling is greater at the very beginning of the work day or after a food break than later in the sequence of cases,' the researchers report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Private Investigator News: Baltimore gun registry unconstitutional
"A Circuit Court judge has found Baltimore's 4-year-old gun registry law to be unconstitutional in a nonbinding opinion.
The Baltimore Sun reports that Judge Alfred Nance said the city police department had failed to establish clear regulations for the registry, and that the program was 'unconstitutionally vague and overly broad.'
The program requires those convicted of gun crimes to furnish addresses and other information to the city every six months for three years. Nance said a requirement that they provide 'any other information' required by department rules seems to give police 'limitless discretion.'"
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
The Baltimore Sun reports that Judge Alfred Nance said the city police department had failed to establish clear regulations for the registry, and that the program was 'unconstitutionally vague and overly broad.'
The program requires those convicted of gun crimes to furnish addresses and other information to the city every six months for three years. Nance said a requirement that they provide 'any other information' required by department rules seems to give police 'limitless discretion.'"
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Private Investigator News: New Mexico agencies must provide electronic records
"New Mexico has a new law that says if a government agency has a public record in electronic form, it must provide the record that way.
Democratic state Sen. Stephen Fischmann of Mesilla Park says he'd had problems getting electronic records before he became a senator.
He says agencies would insist on sending paper records, which meant higher costs."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Democratic state Sen. Stephen Fischmann of Mesilla Park says he'd had problems getting electronic records before he became a senator.
He says agencies would insist on sending paper records, which meant higher costs."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Sunday, April 10, 2011
PIbuzz: Six Newish Things About LinkedIn You Need To Know Six Newish Things About LinkedIn You Need To Know: http://bit.ly/fb7KId http://ping.fm/BSoci
Private Investigator News: Montana GOP undoing transparency laws
"With near supermajorities in both chambers of the Montana Legislature, Republicans have flexed their newfound muscle by railroading countless partisan bills through the system at the request of their out-of-state corporate benefactors.
Much attention has focused on the devastating impact these bills would have on the Constitution, the environment, public education, working families, consumers and the disabled. But one of the unsung victims of this Republican ideological onslaught has been the public's right to know."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Much attention has focused on the devastating impact these bills would have on the Constitution, the environment, public education, working families, consumers and the disabled. But one of the unsung victims of this Republican ideological onslaught has been the public's right to know."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Private Investigator News: Hawaii governor signs shield law
"Gov. Linda Lingle signed Hawaii’s shield bill into law last week, providing new legal protection to journalists asked to disclose their sources and newsgathering materials in state courts.
Both houses of the state Legislature unanimously passed the law in late April, just before heading into summer recess. Hawaii became the 36th state to offer a shield for journalists.
The law offers an absolute privilege protecting both the identity of sources and the content of newsgathering materials in most situations.
In felony prosecutions and civil defamation actions, though, the measure will offer only a qualified privilege for journalists. In those circumstances the privilege would not apply if the information is otherwise unavailable, 'noncumulative' -- i.e., not merely repetitive -- and necessary to the charge, claim or defense asserted."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Both houses of the state Legislature unanimously passed the law in late April, just before heading into summer recess. Hawaii became the 36th state to offer a shield for journalists.
The law offers an absolute privilege protecting both the identity of sources and the content of newsgathering materials in most situations.
In felony prosecutions and civil defamation actions, though, the measure will offer only a qualified privilege for journalists. In those circumstances the privilege would not apply if the information is otherwise unavailable, 'noncumulative' -- i.e., not merely repetitive -- and necessary to the charge, claim or defense asserted."
Read more
Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Private Investigator News: California court to examine juror's Facebook privacy
"The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the state's 3rd District Court of Appeals to revisit the case of a Sacramento juror who was ordered to consent to the release of Facebook posts he had made during a criminal trial in 2010."
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Private Investigator News: Debt collectors collect "friends"
"And it’s not just purchases. Debt collectors say Linkedin, a career networking site, is particularly helpful if debtors make a big deal about not being able to pay bills because they’re unemployed. It’s hard to make that argument if their Linkedin profiles detail their current employers, positions and job descriptions.
But what are the rules when it comes to this sort of thing?
Can debt collectors post on your Facebook wall or create a fake profile and “friend” you to see more information about you?
The owner of a Portland-area collection agency, who declined to be identified, said that’s exactly what his collectors do. In fact, they have a contest to see who can “collect” the most debtors as friends."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
But what are the rules when it comes to this sort of thing?
Can debt collectors post on your Facebook wall or create a fake profile and “friend” you to see more information about you?
The owner of a Portland-area collection agency, who declined to be identified, said that’s exactly what his collectors do. In fact, they have a contest to see who can “collect” the most debtors as friends."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Private Investigator News: Arizona School Loses Public Records Suit
"The Arizona Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled in favor of the Goldwater Institute in rebuking the Congress (Ariz.) Elementary School District for its efforts to permanently deny public information sought by four parents and taxpayers.
“This is the second court to tell the Congress school district that it has no case,” said Clint Bolick, the Goldwater Institute’s litigation director. “Hopefully, district officials will stop trying to silence these women and instead will start following the law.”
The four women have sought records over the past 10 years ranging from school board meeting minutes and agendas to their own children’s school records. On at least three occasions, the state Attorney General’s office and the Arizona public records ombudsman have found the school district violated its obligations to open meetings and public records under state law."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
“This is the second court to tell the Congress school district that it has no case,” said Clint Bolick, the Goldwater Institute’s litigation director. “Hopefully, district officials will stop trying to silence these women and instead will start following the law.”
The four women have sought records over the past 10 years ranging from school board meeting minutes and agendas to their own children’s school records. On at least three occasions, the state Attorney General’s office and the Arizona public records ombudsman have found the school district violated its obligations to open meetings and public records under state law."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Friday, April 01, 2011
Private Investigator News: Facebook Posts are Electronic Mail Messages
"The Northern District of California ruled that commercial posts to a Facebook user's wall, news feed, and home page constitute 'electronic mail messages' that are subject to CAN-SPAM. Two other courts in California had taken a similar approach with respect to MySpace messages (MySpace v. Wallace and MySpace v. TheGlobe.com)."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
Private Investigator News: Juror's bid to block release of Facebook postings revived by California Supreme Court
"California's highest court pushed a potential constitutional showdown forward Wednesday when it ordered a lower court to revisit the matter of a Sacramento juror who posted his trial musings on his Facebook 'wall.'
The 6-0 state Supreme Court decision sent the case back to the 3rd District Court of Appeal. On Feb. 10, the appellate court refused to take up juror Arturo Ramirez's effort to block a Sacramento judge from forcing him to allow the release of his Facebook postings."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
The 6-0 state Supreme Court decision sent the case back to the 3rd District Court of Appeal. On Feb. 10, the appellate court refused to take up juror Arturo Ramirez's effort to block a Sacramento judge from forcing him to allow the release of his Facebook postings."
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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator
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