By The Electronic Frontier Foundation

The Electronic Frontier Foundation asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to set limits on warrantless searches of cell phones, arguing in two cases before the court that changing technology demands new guidelines for when the data on someone’s phone can be accessed and reviewed by investigators.
The amicus briefs were filed in Riley v. California and U.S. v. Wurie. In both cases, after arresting a suspect, law enforcement officers searched the arrestee’s cell phone without obtaining a warrant from a judge. Historically, police have been allowed some searches “incident to arrest” in order to protect officers’ safety and to preserve evidence. However, in the briefs filed Monday, EFF argues that once a cell phone has been seized, the police should be required to get a search warrant to look through the data on the phone.

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Posted on March 13, 2014

By Steve Rhodes

In preparation for a Sun-Times event with David Axelrod, the paper’s political reporter, Natasha Korecki, put out a call over Twitter for questions readers would like to see asked.
I responded. In vain, predictably.
Here’s the Sun-Times’s own write-up of the content-free night of gladhanding. Buttons and bullshit.
Now, here are the questions I suggested:

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Posted on March 12, 2014

By Steve Rhodes

This was the second debate in two nights and the third in a week – and it showed. Piling on the debates at the end of a campaign isn’t very constructive, and often sets up counter-productive dynamics.
For example, when there is a clear frontrunner, as there is in the case of Bruce Rauner, the dynamic becomes “attack the frontrunner.” And then the media equation becomes “did anyone land a knockout blow” and by that time we’ve drifted far from reality because the veracity of the attacks matter little when a sense of inevitability sets in.
So here’s an idea: Schedule debates at the beginning, middle and end of the campaign. You’re welcome!

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Posted on March 6, 2014

By Steve Rhodes

This was easily a better affair than last week’s ABC7 debate, and the main reason for that was moderator Carol Marin, who asked a combination of fresh questions and old questions wrapped in fresh formulations. She also actually listened to the candidates’ answers and wasn’t afraid to follow-up on their claims.
Let’s take a look.

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Posted on March 5, 2014

President Talks Pretty, Acts Ugly

“Monday afternoon, Robert Duncan [reported] to Mendota Federal Prison in Fresno, Calif., to begin a two-year prison sentence,” Reason notes.
“His crime? Working for a medical marijuana business that was legal under California state law. Not owning it; not profiting from illegal sales. Merely for being employed by the business.
“The collective of dispensaries Duncan worked for, known as MediZen, was raided by federal authorities in 2011 during a crackdown on medical marijuana providers by the Obama administration.”
Here’s Duncan discussing his case with HuffPost Live.

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Posted on March 4, 2014

Legal Briefings Still Under Seal After Government Demands For Secrecy

The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed two briefs on Friday challenging secret government demands for information known as National Security Letters (NSLs) with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The briefs – one filed on behalf of a telecom company and another for an internet company – remain under seal because the government continues to insist that even identifying the companies involved might endanger national security.
While the facts surrounding the specific companies and the NSLs they are challenging cannot be disclosed, their legal positions are already public: the NSL statute is a violation of the First Amendment as well as the constitutional separation of powers.

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Posted on March 3, 2014