Monthly Archives: May 2006

Time to Short AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth?

Posted on May 11, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

According to Think Progress | Telcos Could Be Liable For Tens of Billions of Dollars For Illegally Turning Over Phone Records, AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth face huge liabilities for turning over millions of American’s call records to the NSA in violation of law. That potentially $1000 for each person whose call records were turned over. Millions and millions of people. Each.

Posted in Civil Liberties, Econ & Money | 9 Comments

Diebold Voting Machines Very Easy to Hack

Posted on May 11, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

Inside Bay Area – New security glitch found in Diebold system.

Elections officials in several states are scrambling to understand and limit the risk from a “dangerous” security hole found in Diebold Election Systems Inc.’s ATM-like touch-screen voting machines.

The hole is considered more worrisome than most security problems discovered on modern voting machines, such as weak encryption, easily pickable locks and use of the same, weak password nationwide.

Armed with a little basic knowledge of Diebold voting systems and a standard component available at any computer store, someone with a minute or two of access to a Diebold touch screen could load virtually any software into the machine and disable it, redistribute votes or alter its performance in myriad ways.

Are we paranoid enough yet?

Update: Ed Felten and Avi Rubin have links, details, and an assessment. It’s bad.

Posted in Law: Elections | 4 Comments

Incredible

Posted on May 11, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

Read USATODAY’s NSA has massive database of Americans’ phone calls, and then ask yourself, are we paranoid enough?

It seems not.

Update: Read Unclaimed Territory by Glenn Greenwald. Now.

Posted in Civil Liberties | 3 Comments

Say GoodBye To ‘The Economist’?

Posted on May 11, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

If I understand this post of Brad DeLong’s, a magazine I used to like but recently have had doubts about just slit its own wrists. Apparently, The Economist just appointed the guy who has been writing the Lexington column for the past few years to be the Editor in Chief. (I say apparently, because the entry for John Micklethwait at the Economist web site says he previously edited the US section of the newspaper which may or may not have included writing as Lexington.)

I’ve explained my problems with the modern Economist before (too little about Albania, too much that sounds like the GOP), but now I have to add that the Lexington column has for years, without exception, been the most pathetic part of the magazine. For years it has been the predictable and unoriginal regurgitation of the most pedestrian GOP talking points. Ken Mehlman with a very slight British accent. Appointing Lexington to run the thing would be so stupid that although I reluctantly renewed recently, I’d be tempted to ask for my money back.

Fortunately, this Penguin blurb says “Adrian Wooldridge writes its Lexington column”, although it’s undated. So maybe there’s still hope. Although if he was editing Lexington and didn’t recognize for the warmed over spin points that it was…

Posted in The Media | 3 Comments

Another Good Blog

Posted on May 11, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

I’m getting to the point where I fear more blogs to read. And Info/Law looks good, so it’s especially scary.

It’s about law and information (good stuff!), and it’s by Minnesota law-prof-to-be William McGeveran and Wayne State law-prof-to-be Derek Bambauer.

Posted in Blogs | Comments Off on Another Good Blog

‘Rumpole’ Finds a Cause

Posted on May 11, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

[Update (5/11): As noted by a commentator, Rumpole retracts!

THE FOLLOWING POST IS INCORRECT. RUMPOLE BLEW IT. SEE THE POST ON 511/06. JUDGE FARINA HAS NOT ORDERED ANY INTERPRETER NOT TO INTERPRET FOR A DEFENDANT’S FAMILY. SORRY. WE BLEW IT.

Maybe I should change the title to “Rumpole Loses a Cause”? (Although as the comments to the later story make clear, the incident really happened; seems it was just a misunderstanding of some kind.)]

“Rumpole” of the Justice Building Blog, now quite the talk of Miami-Dade litigators, has found a Cause, and it’s a good one:

JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG: NO HABLA INGLES….EVER

Here is the scene:
A lawyer is in court.
The Defendant is in custody.
There are sensitive plea negotiations at sidebar.
The case gets reset.
The defendant has to surrender his passport, pay a large fine and restitution before the case gets settled and he can get out of jail.
The new court date is two weeks away.

The interpreter does her job in court and on the way out the attorney wants to tell his client’s family the new court date and what needs to be done.

The attorney signals to the interpreter, who walks over and in Spanish asks the people if they are defendants.
They politely tell the interpreter that no, they are the family of the defendant who was just in court and they ask her what happened and when they have to be back in court.

The Interpreter reaches into her pocket, pulls out her reading glasses, clears her throat (ahhem) and loudly says for all to hear:

HEAR YE HEAR YE, BY ORDER OF THE CHIEF JUDGE OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR DADE COUNTY, I CANNOT ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS.
FURTHERMORE, BY ORDER OF THE CHIEF JUDGE, I CANNOT TRANSLATE ANY INSTRUCTIONS FROM YOUR ATTORNEY.
YOU MAY NOT BE TOLD THE NEXT COURT DATE.
YOU MAY NOT BE TOLD WHAT JUST HAPPENED.
WELCOME TO THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF DADE COUNTY.
I AM AUTHORIZED TO CONVEY TO YOU THAT THE CHIEF JUDGE, ON BEHALF OF ALL OF THE JUDGES OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,
WISHES YOU A VERY NICE DAY.

This is not the rule elsewhere, not even in nearby Broward, which is not perhaps the watchword for sensitivity to non-English speakers and minorities. As Rumpole says, “WHEN BROWARD TAKES THE LEAD IN RACIAL OR ETHNIC SENSITIVITY, THEN YOU KNOW SOMETHING IS WRONG.”

Posted in Law: Practice, Miami | 4 Comments