Posts tagged as:

subpoenas

TSA aims subpoena at bloggers, seizes laptop

by Walter Olson on December 31, 2009

TSA can take decisive action after all, when bloggers as opposed to terrorists are the targets: “Two East Coast travel bloggers who posted a sensitive airport security memo on their Internet sites have been subpoenaed by federal officials trying to find out who sent them the document. One of the writers, Steve Frischling, also had his laptop seized by agents looking for evidence of his source for the Transportation Security Administration directive.” [Alison Grant, Cleveland Plain Dealer; Elliott.org; BoingBoing (Frischling got laptop back)(& welcome Coyote readers)]

More: Via Instapundit, a contrarian view from Christopher Fotos at Aviation Week, and coverage from Wired “Threat Level”. Update: TSA backs off [AP/Law.com, BoingBoing]

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“Prosecutor Pays a Price for Chasing Commenters”

by Walter Olson on December 15, 2009

An Oklahoma district attorney issues a subpoena in search of the identities of critical online commenters. Events don’t develop in the way he was hoping, though, and he’ll be leaving office at the end of his term. [Eric Robinson, Citizen Media Law; McAlester, Okla.]

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Waxman, Stupak demand info from health insurers

by Walter Olson on August 19, 2009

A compulsory subpoena could follow if they don’t fork over information on “compensation of highly paid employees” and “expenses stemming from any event held outside company facilities in the past 2 1/2 years”, among other topics. As AP notes, industries that vocally support, rather than oppose, health care reform aren’t targets of the investigation. More: Politico.

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Former employee says she wasn’t paid

by Walter Olson on July 7, 2009

Rosalie Farnsworth made various charges against the publisher of a defunct South Florida magazine; now he says he’s suing her for defamation. [Broward Palm Beach New Times, its earlier report]

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Mortgage Implode-O-Meter online speech case, cont’d

by Walter Olson on July 2, 2009

Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press have submitted an amicus brief in the case, urging the New Hampshire Supreme Court to uphold the website’s position on First Amendment grounds. The popular site Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter had published a New Hampshire Banking Department document containing information about a private company; that company proceeded to sue the site demanding that the document be taken down, and also demanded discovery of how the document had come into the site’s possession. Earlier here.

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Intimidation through subpoena

by Walter Olson on May 21, 2009

Lawyers know how to do it, but then, so do members of Congress.

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Online commentary not so anonymous

by Walter Olson on May 7, 2009

A New Hampshire court has ordered a well-known mortgage-crisis-watchdog website, Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter, to disclose confidential sources and the identity of an anonymous commenter [Sam Bayard, Citizen Media Law] The order has been stayed pending appeal.

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