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The Southern California Law Blog: Bloggers Win, Apple Loses in California Decision Over First Amendment Rights

Today, the California Court of Appeal issued its opinion overturning the trial court’s discovery orders obtained by Apple against a blogger. The EFF described the lawsuit by Apple as follows:

In December 2004, Apple filed a lawsuit in Santa Clara county against unnamed individuals who allegedly leaked information about new Apple products to several online news sites, including AppleInsider and PowerPage. The articles at issue concerned a FireWire audio interface for GarageBand, codenamed “Asteroid” or “Q7.” In addition, Apple filed a separate trade secret suit against Think Secret on January 4, 2004.

Apple is seeking information from these news sites regarding the identities of the sites’ sources, and has subpoenaed Nfox.com, the email service provider for PowerPage, for email messages that may identify the confidential source.

The Bear Flag League in 2005 filed an amicus brief in support of Jackson O’Grady.

The brief is here.

Congratulations to Justene Adamec and Jeff Lewis, attorneys extraordinaire, who represented the Bear Flag League and the Blogosphere so well.

The decision is here.

The EFF has a webpage summarizing the lawsuit with links to all the legal documents here.

Flap’s blogpost from June 4, 2005: Apple v. Does: Confidential Sources in the Blogosphere.

May It Please the Court represented the Bear Flag League in oral argument. You can read his first hand account here.

Blogosphere/MSM:

Instapundit

Right on the Left Beach: Bear Flag League Scores an Assist

Bag and Baggage: Apple v. Does Decision Issued

If Apple opts to seek review by the California Supreme Court, its petition should be due the first week of July (I get July 5). Review is rarely granted, generally only when necessary “to secure uniformity of decision or to settle an important question of law.” (CRC 28(b)) This strikes me as a well-reasoned and thorough decision, and one where securing review poses a significant challenge.

Though the media coverage of the opinion is bound to focus on the shield law and constitutional protections here extended to online journalists, in this era of ubiquitous use of email services originating with third parties the portions of the decision applying the Stored Communications Act might well have even broader impact.

Red Herring

Techdirt

Slashdot

internetnews.com

Macworld

Mercury News

AP

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Apple v. Does: Confidential Sources in the Blogosphere
Judge: Apple can pursue fan site sources
Bloggers Speak up about the Apple Case

Ventura County Star: 3 strikes law reform bill is criticized

County DA says it would pose a great risk to public

Ventura County’s top prosecutor said he is satisfied with California’s “three strikes” law, and criticized a proposed ballot measure that would limit 25-to-life terms to only serious or violent crimes.County District Attorney Greg Totten said the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2006, which is co-sponsored by Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, would pose a great risk to the public.

Flap is satisified with the “three strikes” law as well. The more criminals kept away from society the better. Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles County District Attorney seems more concerned with freeing criminals from his overcrowded jails than protecting the public.

The Repeat Criminal Offender/Three Strikes Fair Sentencing Act of 2006 is here.

The Three Strikes Reform Act of 2006 is here.

The current California Three Strikes law is here.

Cooley, who is pushing the measure for the November ballot, believes it would make prison terms more just by reforming state guidelines, which are some of the toughest in the nation. One result could mean that hundreds, perhaps thousands of inmates would be sentenced to shorter terms or set free. In Ventura County, it could mean the release of 21 third-strike defendants, Totten said.

“While I consider Steve Cooley as a friend and have great respect for him, I do not agree with him on this issue,” he said. “I think it’s bad public policy.”

Great, release even more criminals early. This is NOT bad public policy – It is UNACCEPTABLE public policy.

The Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks, a possible successor to Congressman Elton Gallegly in 2008 also opposes changing the three strikes law.

Critics of the existing law point to cases where defendants were put away for stealing a cookie or pizza. Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks, however, said prosecutors and judges have the discretion to consider which crimes they would count as the third strike.

“So much of this has been driven by real quick sound bites of cases that look like an abuse of the system,” Brooks said. “If the public knew everything, they would see that the three strikes law is working. When you look at the kind of violators they are … I think it is frightening. These are some violent offenses of the worst kind. Given the context, you still have a very dangerous person who is still offending.”

And to confuse California voters further there is another measure being circulated for the November ballot.

A competing measure co-written by Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Steven Ipsen aims to toughen the existing law in some cases and make it more lenient in others.

Ipsen’s Repeat Criminal Offender/Three Strikes Fair Sentencing Act of 2006 would give life sentences to sex offenders and murderers after two convictions, not three. However, it would allow sentences of 10 years to life and 15 years to life instead of the mandated 25 years to life if the third conviction wasn’t serious.

This spring supporters of each measure will begin collecting the nearly 400,000 signatures they need to put each measure before voters on the November ballot.

So, when you see the signature gatherers asking you to sign the initiative petitions REFUSE to sign then.

Keep the California “three strikes” law!

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California Three Strikes Law Watch: William Bratton and Lee Baca Support Reform of Three Strikes Law

President Bush signs the USA Patriot Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005 in the East Room of the White House Thursday, March 9, 2006 in Washington.

ASSociated Press: Bush Signs Renewal of Patriot Act

A day before parts of the USA Patriot Act were to expire, President Bush signed into law a renewal that will allow the government to keep using terror-fighting tools passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Bush’s signature came two days after the House gave final approval to the legislation over objections that it infringes on Americans’ privacy. The president said the law has been vital to protecting Americans from terrorists.

“The Patriot Act has accomplished exactly what it was designed to do,” Bush said during a signing ceremony in the White House East Room. “It has helped us detect terrorist cells, disrupt terrorist plots and save American lives.”

Senate Democrats held up the reauthorization for partisan political purposes. When the issue failed to gather support (read the public supported the Patriot Act) they dropped opposition like a hot rock.

The changes in the legislation are minor and could have been negotiated without the histrionics and drama from the LEFT.

Combat Methamphetamine Act provisions are incorporated in the act and are now law – a good thing.

Previous:

Patriot Act Watch: United States Senate Approves Renewal

Patriot Act Watch: Extended Until February 3

Patriot Act Watch: Playing Politics But Extended for Six Months

Combat Methamphetamine Act of 2005 Watch: Bill Dies with Patriot Act Extension

Technorati Tags: ThePatriotAct, PresidentGeorgeWBush, CombatMethamphetamineAct, methamphetamine

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley

Los Angeles Times: Bratton, Baca Support Attempts to Reform Three Strikes Law

Los Angeles Police Department Chief William J. Bratton and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca have joined an effort to rein in California’s three strikes sentencing law.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, who is pushing a ballot initiative to soften the tough law, said at a news conference Thursday that he had won the chiefs’ backing.

Well, Steve Cooley has the Chief’s backing before this attempt to change the Three Strikes Law becomes eligible for the California ballot.

Why is there a need for the change?

BECAUSE……..

Cooley and the San Francisco County District Attorney are NOT enforcing the current Three Strikes law……

Cooley said while Los Angeles and San Francisco counties only use three strikes against violent offenders, the policy should be uniform.

“It’s great if it happens most of the time,” Cooley said. “But when you write something down and make it a law, you make sure it happens all the time.”

Flap thinks D.A. Steve Cooley BETTER enforce the CURRENT law before seeking endorsements to CHANGE it!

Cooley has long criticized the breadth of the state’s law, which sometimes results in sentences of 25 years to life for those whose third strikes were nonviolent or minor crimes. His ballot initiative, coauthored with defense lawyer Brian Dunn, would limit third strikes in most cases to violent or serious offenses.

Cooley’s proposed initiative does not attempt to redefine first and second strikes and will likely make fewer inmates subject to re-sentencing. “This is a much narrower, focused effort,” Cooley said.

Cooley, there needs to be NO effort.

Either ENFORCE the law or RESIGN.

Steve Cooley’s initiative in circulation is: “The Repeat Criminal Offender/Three Strikes Fair Sentencing Act of 2006 (Version 2)”

H/T Southern California Law Blog

Technorati Tags: ThreeStrikesLaw, SteveCooley, WilliamBratton, LeeBaca, LosAngelesCountyDistrictAttorney

Right-wing British historian David Irving holds his book ‘Hitler’s War’ when arriving at a court in Vienna, on Monday, Feb. 20, 2006. Irving is accused of denying the Holocaust and is facing up to 10 years in jail. He has been in custody since his arrest in November on charges stemming from two speeches he gave in Austria in 1989 in which he was accused of denying the Nazis’ extermination of 6 million Jews.

ASSociated Press: Holocaust Denier Gets Three Years

Right-wing British historian David Irving pleaded guilty Monday to denying the Holocaust and was sentenced to three years in prison, even after conceding he wrongly said there were no Nazi gas chambers at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Irving, handcuffed and wearing a navy blue suit, arrived in court carrying a copy of one of his most controversial books — “Hitler’s War,” which challenges the extent of the Holocaust.

“I made a mistake when I said there were no gas chambers at Auschwitz,” Irving told the court before his sentencing, at which he faced up to 10 years in prison.

He also expressed sorrow “for all the innocent people who died during the Second World War.”

But he insisted he never wrote a book about the Holocaust, which he called “just a fragment of my area of interest.”

“In no way did I deny the killings of millions of people by the Nazis,” testified Irving, who has written nearly 30 books.

Irving’s lawyer immediately announced he would appeal the sentence.

Now you know why the American Founders wrote the First Amendment to the United States Constitution……

But, what about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

Technorati Tags: Holocaust, DavidIrving, Nazis, Hitler, Iran, MahmoudAhmadinejad

Alessandra Mussolini was one of many who slammed the Italian court after the ruling.

CNN: Italian court: Not a virgin? Sex crimes aren’t as serious

The court ruled in favor of a man in his forties, identified only as Marco T., who forced his 14-year old stepdaughter to have oral sex with him after she refused intercourse.

The man, who has been sentenced to three years and four months in jail, lodged an appeal arguing that the fact that his stepdaughter had had sex with men before should have been taken into consideration during his trial as a mitigating factor.

The supreme court agreed, saying that because of her previous sexual experiences, the victim’s “personality, from a sexual point of view, is much more developed than what would be normally expected of a girl of her age”.

“It is therefore fair to argue that (the damage for the victim) would be lower” if the abused girl was not a virgin, Italian news agencies quoted the court as saying.

This means the man could now be handed a lighter sentence.

And Justice Stephen Breyer and others on the United States Supreme Court wish to use international law as precedents……

NO WAY would Flap want these liberal Italian morons ruling on his life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

Captain Ed has Bad Girls Deserve Abuse? Italian Court Says ‘Si!’

Technorati Tags: Rape, Italy, ItalianSupremeCourt, UnitedStatesSupremeCourt, Mussolini, Virgin, Sexcrimes

Mitchell Rose holds the yellow stickers that hybrid owners must use to access carpool lanes. The decals, which are 7 by 3 inches and 5 by 2 inches in size, go on panels behind the rear wheels and on the bumpers.

The ASSociated Press has Hybrid Car Buyers to Receive Tax Breaks

Hybrid cars are a good bet for tax breaks in 2006. The new year will bring more savings for buyers of at least 13 gas-electric vehicles, with those showing the most improvement in fuel efficiency securing bigger tax breaks for their new owners.

The breaks will come in the form of tax credits, and they range from $3,150 for buyers of the Toyota Prius to $250 for Chevrolet’s Silverado pickup truck, according to an analysis by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

The credits give buyers of American hybrids incentives similar to those now enjoyed mostly by Honda and Toyota owners.

Official figures on the hybrid tax credits weren’t available Friday from the Internal Revenue Service.

Still, some car-shoppers already have figured out they would do better to hold off on buying a hybrid until after Jan. 1, when the new credits kick in.

Well, only one day to wait……..about those ugly stickers……….

Technorati Tags: Hybrid Automobiles, California, carpool lanes, Toyota Prius