The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a case that effectively allows  police to secretly place global positioning system (GPS) tracking devices on vehicles without seeking a warrant from a judge.   In United States v. Pineda-Moreno  (591 F3d 1212),  Pineda-Moreno argued that sneaking onto his driveway and secretly placing a GPS tracking device to his car violated his reasonable expectation of privacy.  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that there was no reasonable expectation of privacy to driveway; that there was no reasonable expectation of privacy to undercarriage of vehicle; that there was no reasonable expectation of privacy when parking vehicle on street or in parking lot; and that the use of a tracking device was not a search.  

Dissenting language from the order denying a rehearing enbanc ( 2010 WL 3169573) is passionate:

Having previously decimated the protections the Fourth Amendment accords to the home itself, United States v. Lemus, 596 F.3d 512 (9th Cir.2010) (Kozinski, C.J., dissenting from the denial of rehearing en banc); United States v. Black, 482 F.3d 1044 (9th Cir.2007) (Kozinski, J., dissenting from the denial of rehearing en banc), our court now proceeds to dismantle the zone of privacy we enjoy in the home’s curtilage and in public. The needs of law enforcement, to which my colleagues seem inclined to refuse nothing, are quickly making personal privacy a distant memory.1984 may have come a bit later than predicted, but it’s here at last.

The same issue was argued in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  This court held the opposite in the case United States v. Maynard, found at 2010 WL 3063788.    The court held that warrantless use of  (GPS) device on defendant’s vehicle for a month was a search and that the automobile exception to the warrant requirement did not apply to this search. 

 The issue could eventually end up in the United State Supreme Court. To find a number of cases on the topic of whether law enforcement  is required to get a warrant before placing a GPS tracking device on a car, try the following search.

Database:  ALLCASES

Search:       G.P.S. /S CAR AUTOMOBILE VEHICLE VAN TRUCK S.U.V. PICK-UP /S (NO NOT #WITHOUT FAIL! LACK! /5 WARRANT) WARRANTLESS SECRETLY.

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Credit: REUTERS/Janet Hamlin/Pool

Accused terrorist, Omar Khadr, is the youngest detainee at Guantanamo Bay. Khadr, was captured in Afghanistan in 2002, when he was just 15 years old. He is accused of helping assemble and plant roadside bombs for al Qaeda and of killing a special forces soldier. Last week, (Thursday, August 12, 2010), his trial began, marking the Obama Administration’s first full military trial of suspected terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay (GITMO) .

There has been a lot of discussion over the Due Process Rights of GITMO detainees.  See May 19, 2010 blog article from Tedd C. entitled Guantanamo Detainees and Due Process—This Time in the U.K.   To read some law review articles on the issue of due process for Guantanamo detainees, go to WestlawNext and type in: Due Process Rights of Guantanomo Detainees. Click the Secondary Source link on the left panel to get a list of relevant articles.

Westlaw.com also has a number of dockets online where Omar Khadr is a party.

• Database: DOCK-FED-ALL
• Search: PTN(OMAR /2 KHADR) 

Khadr was just a teen when he was caught and detained. One of his defenses is that of being a “child soldier.” Was he too young to know the consequences of his acts? Was he threatened with violence or even death if he did not comply? An interesting article is found on Westlaw.  See International Law and Laws of War and International Criminal Law – Prosecution of Child Solders — United States v. Omar Ahmed Khadr, 33 Suffolk Transnat’l L. Rev. 175.

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A popular request these days is, ‘how do I find a judge’s reversal rate?’  Westlaw has Judicial Reversal Reports online.  Judicial Reversal Reports provide a judge’s reversal rate with trends by case type, appellate panel, and other filters.   Judicial Reversal Reports can be found in a number of places on Westlaw:  Site Map, Profiler,  and the Litigation Tab. 

Click Site Map at top right of Westlaw.com screen.  Click Judicial Reversal Report in right column under Find a Person area. Simply type the Judge’s name in the box and click Search Westlaw.

Below is an example of what a partial  Judicial Reversal Report might look like.

Customize This Report  

Appealed Decisions ( January 2005 – July 2010)

 

Appealed Decisions 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total Affirmed 11 5 7 7 1 1 32 Affirmed in Part/Reversed in Part 0 1 1 1 0 1 4 Remanded 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 Affirmed as Modified 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Petition Denied 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Affirmed/Total Appealed* 11/11 5/6 7/11 7/9 1/1 1/2 32/40

*This report includes information from only those appeals where the lower court judge is identified in the decision.

Case Types ( January 2005 – July 2010)

 

Case Types 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total Criminal Justice 3 6 5 1 0 1 16 Domestic Relations/Family Law 7 0 5 1 0 0 13 Employment/Labor 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 Constitutional Law 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 Government 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 Real Property 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 Communications 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Health 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 Legal Services 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 Science, Computers, and Technology 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Other 0 0 0 3 1 1 5 Total 14 7 12 10 1 3 47

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A new regulation went in to effect last week which could benefit you, your friends or your siblings!   In the past, students lost health insurance coverage once they graduated from college, no matter what their employment status.   Pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148)  passed in to law March 23, 2010, health insurance coverage under  a parent’s insurance plan is extended to children up to 26 years of age.  Key language includes:

“a plan or issuer may not deny or restrict coverage for a child who has not attained age 26 based on the presence or absence of the child’s financial dependency (upon the participant or any other person), residency with the participant or with any other person, student status, employment, or any combination of those factors.”

To view the new regulations, in the Find Document by Citation box, type in:   26 C.F.R. § 54.9815-2714T and click GO.

*Editors note available in the comments //

The need for  international law is on the rise.  We get frequent requests on whether Westlaw contains specific statutory or case law of foreign countries, as well as various  international agreements.

To determine what types of international materials Westlaw has online click the DIRECTORY link at the top of the Westlaw screen.  Click INTERNATIONAL/ WOLDWIDE MATERIALS. Click the MULTINATIONAL MATERIALS link to get a listing of multiple database folders broken down by types of materials or click the DATABASES LISTED ALPHABETICALLY BY COUNTRY OR REGION link to look up what databases we have for a specific country.

The International Legal Materials database (ILM)  and American Society of International Law database (ASIL)  and International Law – Law Reviews, Texts & Bar Journals database (INT-TP) are helpful databases as well.  Westlaw also has an  International Law tab you can add to your screen under the Add A Tab link.

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The 4th of July has come and gone and now summer has truly arrived.  Triple digit temperatures are causing heat advisories in various parts of the country.  It does not take long for children and the elderly to become dehydrated.  It might seem obvious, but do not leave children in hot cars.  Hot Car deaths can lead not only to charges of parental abuse and neglect, but ultimately criminal charges as well.

In the WestlawNext Search box, type in:   HOT CAR DEATHS.  See the secondary source listed in the Overview screen -  CRIME AND PARENTHOOD: THE UNEASY CASE FOR PROSECUTING NEGLIGENT PARENTS, 100 Nw. U. L. Rev. 807.

If you do not have access to WestlawNext, go to the Find Document by Citation box on Westlaw.com and type in: 100 Nw. U. L. Rev. 807 and click GO.

This article is very interesting and includes the following  table:

*825 Table: Hyperthermia Incidents in the Criminal Justice System (1998-2003)

Identity of Defendant Number of Incidents Incidents Prosecuted82 Defendant Convicted Jail Sentence Imposed Mother 46 26/43 (60.5%) 23/25 (92%) 15/22 (68.2%) Father 28 11/25 (44%) 10/11 (90.9%) 5/9 (55.5%) Both Parents 14 6/12 (50%) 5/6 (83.3%) 1/4 (25%) Other Relative 14 6/10 (60%) 5/6 (83.3%) 1/5 (20%) Unrelated Party 28 24/27 (88.8%) 20/22 (90.9%) 12/20 (60%)

The conventional wisdom about parental negligence cases supposes that parents are usually not charged with a criminal offense and in the unlikely event they are charged, are rarely convicted.83 This perception clearly is inaccurate, especially with regard to mothers.84

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Could your neighbor be a secret agent?  Fake names, secret code words, invisible ink!   Sounds exciting!    Eleven people, seemingly living normal lives here in the United States, have been arrested and accused of being members of a Russian spy ring. 

To read the Criminal Complaint, do a FIND to 2010 WL 2561518.

To access various dockets connected to this case, access DOCK-FED-ALL and type in the following search:   

PTN((ANNA /2 CHAPMAN) (DONALD /2 HEATHFIELD) (CHRISTOPHER /2 METSOS) (MICHAEL /2 ZOTTOLI) (PATRICIA /2 MILLS) (MIKHAIL SERENKO)) & DA(6/2010) & KNOS(CRIM!)

 Click the TRACK THIS DOCKET link on the upper left of the dockets to be notified when updates are made to the dockets.

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We have had a lot of calls and provided several posts on researching issues related to the Oil Spill.  Westlaw has a new Oil Spill tab to assist you with  your research regarding the Oil Spill tragedy in the Gulf.  The tab has links to court documents, legal analysis and many other documents.

Click Add A Tab link at upper right of Westlaw.com screen.  Click Add Westlaw Tab.   Scroll down to the Topical area and place a check mark in the box to the left of Oil Spill.  Click Add to My TabSet at bottom of screen.

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The topic of obese children in American society and the deleterious effects of such obesity is a hot topic these days.   There is a definite causal  connection between eating excessive junk food and obesity.  This brings into question whether marketing junk food to children is  responsible.

“Fifty percent of children say that food from a package decorated with a cartoon celebrity such as Shrek tastes better than the same exact food from a plain package, according to a new study.” “Between 73 percent and 85 percent selected the food in the character packaging as the one they’d prefer to eat as a snack.” (CNN)

The American Psychological Association, among other organizations, has called for the elimination of all marketing of food products to children.  Though such regulations have not yet been instituted,  running a basic search on WestlawNext  results in some very interesting reports.

WestlawNext  Search:    cartoon characters market junk food

Jurisdiction:    All State and Federal

Browse the Overview Screen – under Administrative Decisions and Guidance, see Report entitled:  MARKETING FOOD TO CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS, 2008 WL 2974317.  To view a number of additional relevant reports and decisions on topic, click the Administrative Decisions and Guidance link on the left panel of WestlawNext.

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Your favorite aunt  is remarrying  and asks  you whether you think she  should have a prenuptial agreement.  How do you advise her?

To read up on seven instances when a prenup is advisable, go to: New vow: ’Til prenup do us part: 7 situations in which the legal document is advisable;

Your aunt has also asked you to show her a couple sample prenuptial agreements so she has an idea of what they entail.   Where can you find  sample prenups?

Click  FORMFINDER  at the top of the Westlaw  screen. Under TOPIC,  choose FAMILY. Under Subtopic,  choose Marriage, Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements.  Under Jurisdiction:    Choose your state or search ALL.

You will notice the results are divided into four groupings:   Text Forms, Official PDF Forms, Checklists  and Clauses.