Social Media Pics Of Guns & Drugs Look Conclusive, Still Need Authentication

May 21st, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

photoshopmanipulationLast Tuesday, the Fifth Circuit heard the case of United States v. Winters. The defendant had been convicted of conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine base; and possession of a firearm by a felon, and concurrently sentenced to 121 and 120 months respectively. Here’s the part of Circuit Judge Smith’s opinion that is relevant to us:

The Friday before trial, [Lead investigator] Price discovered web pages for Winters on the social networking websites Facebook and MySpace. On Winters’s Facebook page, Price found several pictures of Winters and a photograph of what appeared to be firearms stacked on hundreds of thousands of dollars. On Winters’s MySpace page, along with pictures of Winters, there was a picture of wrapped packages that resembled many kilograms of cocaine packaged for sale. Winters’s counsel was not aware of the photographs until the first day of trial—the day before the government intended to introduce them. At trial, although neither of the parties was able conclusively to identify the photos, they were admitted.

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Update: Plaintiffs Successfully Get Out Of Predictive Coding Requirement

May 21st, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

predictivecodingYou may recall the news from a Delaware Court of Chancery last fall: The court had ordered both parties in a case to use predictive coding software to sort through the mountain of discovery facing them. As Pooja S. Nair wrote on this site at the time:

Vice Chancellor Laster characterized the case as “an ideal non-expedited case in which the parties would benefit from using predictive coding.” He asked the parties to use predictive coding for discovery or else to “show cause why this is not a case where predictive coding is the way to go.” He also suggested that they use a single eDiscovery provider – “one of these wonderful discovery super powers” – to warehouse both sides’ documents and offered to choose a vendor if both parties could not agree on one.

This was a bold decision at the time, and now there’s an update…

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NBA Forward Cleared Of Twitter Defamation

May 20th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

set1_ebanksBy IT-Lex Intern Nicole Sellers (LinkedIn)

We all know the pitfalls of using social media, especially for those in the public eye. Recently a NBA player learned just how deep those pitfalls run when he was sued for defamation as a result of a comment he posted on Twitter. Devin Ebanks, a forward on the Los Angeles Lakers, was the defendant in a case where a woman claimed that he allegedly raped her. After he was cleared of the rape charge, TMZ – the foremost authority on all things scandalous in the world of the celebrity – published an article entitled “L.A. Laker Devin Ebanks Cleared in Rape Investigation”. That same day, Ebanks found his way to Twitter to make a seemingly innocent comment on the matter. A friend named Junior, (who had introduced him to the woman who accused him of rape) tweeted “Glad you got cleared”, which then led Ebanks to respond, “Thanks bro next time u wanna hook me up, dnt lol”.

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Party Shuttles, Unions, Facebook – More NLRB Fun

May 20th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

nypartyshuttleBy IT-Lex Intern Christopher Britt (LinkedIn)

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has recently answered the question of whether a person can be fired for bad-mouthing their boss/company on Facebook with a resounding “NO.” Again.  Can you hear that?  It’s the wave of the future crashing through the walls of jurisprudence.  As we get into the DeLorean of privacy, Doc Brown says “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”  The future looks bright. » Read the rest of this entry «

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eDiscovery Clash Of The Titans; Google Claims Searching Difficulties

May 17th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

titansBy IT-Lex Intern Shannon Allen (LinkedIn)

Our favorite tech giants continue to battle each other in the courtroom.  The District Court for Northern California issued an order on May 9th in response to a Motion to Compel where Apple sued Samsung and subpoenaed third party, Google, for e-discovery.  During the e-discovery meet and confer between Apple and Google, search terms and custodians were not agreed upon or even discussed.  So, Google produced e-discovery.  During a subsequent meet and confer, Apple requested Google provide search terms and custodians used in producing the e-discovery.  Apple wanted to know “how Google created the universe from which it produced documents.” » Read the rest of this entry «

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Kim Dotcom’s Team Comes Out Swinging In New White Paper

May 17th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

kimdotcomIt’s been a couple of months since last we checked in with Kim Dotcom and the FBI’s attempt to bring him to the U.S. to face charges of criminal copyright violation. As you may recall, a New Zealand court decided on March 1st that the U.S. didn’t have to disclose all its evidence supporting extradition, instead finding that a summary would suffice. This didn’t sit well with Team Dotcom, who earlier this month “launched an aggressive attack against the U.S. government’s attempt to prosecute the 39-year-old German-born, New Zealand-residing Internet entrepreneur.” This ugly case keeps getting uglier. » Read the rest of this entry «

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Fourth Circuit Puts Sharp Limits On Recoverable eDiscovery Costs

May 16th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

stackofcashIt’s been a little while since we’ve addressed the costs of eDiscovery here at IT-Lex, so right on cue, there’s a recent Fourth Circuit opinion that concerns this precise topic. The case is Country Vintner of North Carolina v. E. & J. Gallo Winery, where Gallo had already been granted a summary judgment in the underlying unfair trade practices action. In its bill of costs, Gallo sought $111,047.75 “for charges related to ESI.” Country Vintner contested this sum, and a district court judge slashed the amount to $218.59. Not happy about only being awarded 0.002% of what they asked for, Gallo appealed to the Fourth Circuit, and that brings us up to date.

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The Road To E-Hailing Taxis Is Filled With Obstacles

May 16th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

nyc-taxiBy IT-Lex Intern Nicole Sellers (LinkedIn)

In an continuing battle regarding the use of smartphones to hail cabs in NYC, a judge recently lifted a temporary ban on the e-hail program, giving it a green light, and moving it into test mode gear for the next year. The program seeks to test whether or not it is efficient and feasible for yellow cabs to answer e-hails from customers as opposed to plain old fashioned hails from the street corner. The program was all set to go after the ruling opened the door, but that door was promptly closed again by an appeal made by the livery and black car companies.  A decision on the appeal is now expected on May 20. » Read the rest of this entry «

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‘Seven Level Wipe’ Leads To Federal Charges, Blogger Threats

May 15th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

deletePopehat last week reported about the saga of Scott Bloch. Mr. Bloch served as a United States Special Counsel during the Bush Administration, and was a senior figure at the Department of Justice. He pleaded guilty to, and is currently awaiting sentencing for, approving a “seven-layer wipe” on federal computers while at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. That’s right, we’re talking Spoliation! And as if that wasn’t enough, Bloch is also contacting bloggers to have them remove all mentions of his case. Full details after the break… » Read the rest of this entry «

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Video Poker Briefly Considered “Hacking” Under The CFAA

May 15th, 2013 § 0 comments § permalink

pokerBy IT-Lex Intern Joey Chindamo (LinkedIn)

Poker—a game of luck or skill? Some courts have weighed in, calling it a game of skill. But that analysis applied to live games between real people playing with real cards. What about video poker? Simply pressing buttons on a video poker machine doesn’t require skill, right? For both John Kane and Andre Nestor, luck followed by skill led to big pay days—and big trouble.  » Read the rest of this entry «

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