The US Department of Commerce’s Internet Policy Task Force has proposed a set of principles that collectively form the basis of what could be dubbed an online privacy “Bill of Rights” for US consumers. The proposed policies in the DoC’s “green paper” aim to “improve the state of affairs domestically and advance interoperability among different privacy regimes around the world so that, globally, Internet services can continue to flourish.” The DoC also proposes the creation of a “Privacy Policy Office” that would work with the Federal Trade Commission and other government agencies to create a “voluntary but enforceable . . . [more]

“How long do I have to keep my closed files?” is one of the most frequent questions lawyer ask me. Certainly you don’t have to keep all files permanently – this just doesn’t make practical or economic sense. Nor is the solution as simple as a one-size-fits-all rule for when to destroy closed files (e.g., toss everything at 10 years). For many reasons, file retention and destruction is a complex issue. This post examines why and provides some direction on how long you should keep your closed files. It includes information about how long claims take to surface for different . . . [more]

By now, those following discussions on Copyright Modernization Act Bill C-32, have found their favourite bloggers to follow. Also take the time to visit the where you can follow the introduction of the bill, the debates at 2nd reading, as well as the committee meetings in late November and December. . . . [more]

Why don’t law librarians, legal IT folk and legal publishers all just get along? Do we need a Festivus airing of grievances?

This is the suggestion from Sarah Glassmeyer, Faculty Services and Outreach Librarian at the Valparaiso University School of Law in Valparaiso, Indiana, in her controversial guest blog post The Loris in the Library at the prominent VoxPopuLII blog at the Legal Information Institute, Cornell University Law School.

She says:

I wish I could say, “Librarians . . . computer scientists . . . legal publishers . . . let’s all hold hands now and sing kum-bay-yah!” However,

Last year I let the Winter Solstice slip by unnoticed, only pointing back at it when the days were starting to stretch out. This year I thought I’d beat the rush and mark the shortest day a day early.

Fundamental as the law is in our society, it has little or nothing to say about the day the miserly sun stands still [solstice – mid-13c., from O.Fr. solstice, from L. solstitium “point at which the sun seems to stand still,” from sol “sun” (see sol) + pp. stem of sistere “to come to a stop, make stand still”], an . . . [more]

In the United Kingdom and in Canada the history of the language of law reports is as much about the influence of the French language as it is about the use of English. To a lessor extent such history is also about the influence of Latin.

Consider that the first English law reports were in the French language for over 300 years, specifically:

– the first English law reports are found in the Year Books that run from 1260 to 1535 and they were written 100% in the French language. See page 99, The Language of the Law by David . . . [more]

Mark Schatzker of The Globe noted this week the launch of a new website, JudgeMyCop. Given the scrutiny towards police officers in the GTA following the G20, it’s no surprise that there are Schatzker provides a few amusing parodies of the conflicts, both on the side of law enforcement and the side of the protesters.

Also not surprising, the still emerging blog already has a couple of entries related to the G20, largely links to mainstream media. But many of the existing officer reviews on the site largely deal with what appear to be legitimate offences, dealt with perhaps . . . [more]

Here’s a book for the lawyer on your Christmas gift list: Representing Justice, by Judith Resnik and Dennis E. Curtis (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010). From the blurb:

By mapping the remarkable run of the icon of Justice, a woman with scales and sword, and by tracing the development of public spaces dedicated to justice—courthouses—the authors explore the evolution of adjudication into its modern form as well as the intimate relationship between the courts and democracy.

From the review in the New York Times, we learn:

Lady Justice’s familiar blindfold did not become an accessory until well

Though my father didn’t name me Autolycus[tippy title=”Autolycus”] My father named me Autolycus; who
being, as I am, littered under Mercury, was likewise
a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles.
Winter’s Tale, Act 4, Scene 3 [/tippy], I, too, am something of a “snapper-up of unconsidered trifles,” as anyone who reads Friday Fillips will agree. It’s often the little things, the throw-aways, that prove to be, if not treasures, then sources of delight.

Take comic books. Yes, my mother, too, threw them away, in my case while I was away at university pondering matters of great moment. Those slim, cheap — “trashy” . . . [more]

Many judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings these days are recorded on audio- or videotape, rather than by a court reporter taking notes in person then transcribing them. Usually the audio tape is then transcribed, at least if someone needs a transcript. 

The recordings are often taken as the (or an) ‘official’ version of the proceeding. For example, a practice direction of Ontario’s Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) treats recorded and transcribed proceedings on an equal footing. The rules of practice of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission provide in Rule 2.237(a), “If the hearing is recorded on videotape or some other video . . . [more]

England’s top judge, Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge (that’s a great name!) has complained that “impenetrable” criminal justice legislation is causing major delays in British trials.

The remarks are contained in the most recent annual report of the Court of Appeal Criminal Division.

In his introduction, Lord Judge writes:

“It has been another year of unremitting commitment to the administration of criminal justice. That is as it should be. What remains less tolerable is the continuing burden of comprehending and applying impenetrable legislation, primarily but not exclusively in relation to sentencing. The search for the legislative intention in the

Cynthia Vukets of The Star covered today a new study that predicts the success of lawyers based on their law school yearbook photo,

A University of Toronto professor has found that he can predict how much money a law firm will make just by looking at university yearbook photo of the managing partner.

“We found that power is what predicts their success,” said Nicholas Rule, a psychologist. “It’s the impression of power that one gets from someone’s face.”

He took yearbook photos of the managing partners of the 100 top US law firms and showed them to college students. Students