iOS

iPhone Apps for Mardi Gras — Or for Fastest Breaking News

Last year, after the Boston Marathon Bombing, I wrote about my experience reading Twitter and listening to Ustream to get news on the manhunt which was coming in 10-30 minutes faster than it reached CNN.  A year later, the article is still solid and gives some good resources to say …

4th Amendment

A Tinfoil Hat Which Works: “Booster Bag” Is An Anti-Shoplifting Device Under Florida Statute

Make jokes about the paranoid and their tinfoil hats, but the “tinfoil bag” is the real-deal.  Until you stand right in front of the person you’re stealing from. Most retail stores, as you know, have security tower devices which detect when items with tags pass through the front door, sounding …

4th Amendment

Can the Government Search Your iPhone or iPad at the US Border?

Can Border Patrol rummage through the contents of your digital camera, laptop, smartphones, etc at the border? Yes, according to several recent cases and a broad exception to the Fourth Amendment (search and seizure). Read “Can They Search Your iPad or iPhone at the Border?” from the May 2013 Palm …

law & order

Don’t Bring a Video Game to a Gun Fight

In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook and Gabrielle Giffords’ shooting stories (and hundreds others), the National Rifle Association and other gun proponents have argued that video games are a contributing factor — if not the reason — for gun violence in the United States.  It was suggested by the …

law & order

US Memo on Drone Strikes vs. Al-Qaida Memo on How to Avoid Them

A bit off topic of Internet law, the discovery by the Associated Press of an Al Qaida memorandum on how to avoid detection/death from American drones is a technology story worth discussing.  The news coverage on this has been bleak. On the other hand, there has been plenty of coverage …

E-discovery

What Does a Child Pornography Case Tell You About Computer Evidence?

Want to know how to find (or hide) on a computer what websites were visited, what images were viewed, and what files were deleted?  Even if you are not a computer forensic specialist, you can find this information using basic steps and free software on the Internet.  This is helpful …

law & order

Is Hacking Your Spouse’s Email Account Equivalent to “Domestic Violence” in Florida?

A husband discovered that his wife had accessed his email account and, according to him, she also threatened to shoot him.  So he sought a domestic violence injunction.  Ultimately, it appears that there was no evidence that the wife made the threat about the gun however, at the hearing, she …

Evidence

Nevada Supreme Court Explains Admissibility Standards for IM / Text Messages

The criminal case of Kevin Rodriguez v. State of Nevada is one of three recent cases nationwide which discusses the admissibility of text messages in trial. In Rodriguez, a victim was attacked, robbed, and her cell phone was taken.  Thereafter, twelve text messages were sent from the victim’s phone.  The …

law & order

Florida Adds New Teen (Anti) Sexting Law — Here Are All of the Official Documents

There has been a rush of news stories about Florida’s new anti-sexting law which went into effect October 1, 2011.  Unfortunately, much of the coverage is inconsistent:  for example, CNN describes the new law as “easing” the penalties for this type of lewd behavior. The Sun Sentinel/Palm Beach Post simply …