Page 361 - Tim Cushing News Today

Thu, May 13th 2021 9:35am — Tim Cushing A recent case handled by an Illinois Appeals Court has some interesting things to say about cellphones and searches. It also contains some rather interesting assertions by law enforcement, which apparently didnt feel all that compelled to search a seized phone for more than a year after it was seized. (via FourthAmendment.com) Its a drug and gun case, with the defendant facing two felony charges. Lamar Meakens was arrested following a traffic stop where...

The city government of Tamarac, Florida has found a novel way to spend taxpayers' money: paying someone to find out who handed...

Wed, May 12th 2021 1:57pm — Tim Cushing One of the NYPDs unions -- the Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) -- is feeling ways about stuff again. Last month, the New York City Council passed a number of police reforms which included taking away qualified immunity as a defense in civil lawsuits filed in local courts. The bill has yet to receive the governors signature, but the SBA is already making its unhappiness known. What was written as a cautionary advisory about the changing legal atmo...

Tue, May 11th 2021 10:44am — Tim Cushing Well, someone finally said the quiet part loud: some government officials actually believe the only people who need, want, or use encryption are criminals. Heres Asha Barbaschow with the "encryption is for criminals" news at ZDNet. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) believes there is no legitimate reason for a law-abiding member of the community to own or use an encrypted communication platform. "These platforms are used almost excl...

Mon, May 10th 2021 9:33am — Tim Cushing Donald Trump liked to use the "Deep State" as a rhetorical punching bag. Whenever he stuck his foot in his mouth or found himself under investigation for abusing his powers, he claimed the "Deep State" just couldnt handle having such a strong truth-teller in the Oval Office. But he apparently liked the "Deep State" enough to allow it to go after his personal enemies, even as he portrayed himself as a warrior against the excesses of federal power. Trumps...

Mon, May 10th 2021 12:15pm — Tim Cushing Its not often you see a politician ask the FCC to step in to punish a news station. And for good reason: the First Amendment. Politicians are welcome to fight speech they dont like with more speech, but they shouldnt be calling for a federal government investigation of a TV station just because they dont like the slant of the stories about them. Baltimore (MD) City States Attorney Marilyn Mosby thinks a local Fox affiliate is unfairly portraying her a...

Fri, May 7th 2021 9:22am — Tim Cushing Never underestimate the power of technology to destroy lives. Flawed software used for the last 20 years by the UK postal service resulted in dozens of wrongful criminal convictions which are only just now being overturned. Judges have quashed the convictions of 39 former postmasters after the UKs most widespread miscarriage of justice. They were convicted of stealing money, with some imprisoned, after the Post Office installed the Horizon computer syste...

Mon, May 3rd 2021 3:41pm — Tim Cushing The Fifth Circuit is the worst place to bring a civil rights lawsuit against law enforcement officers. But that may slowly be changing, thanks in part to the Supreme Court, which has played its own part in making qualified immunity an almost insurmountable obstacle in civil cases. Over the past few months, the Supreme Court has reversed and remanded two cases handled by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling that the lower courts extension of qualifi...

Thu, Apr 29th 2021 10:44am — Tim Cushing The United States Postal Service is still in the spying business. The USPS has been scanning pretty much every piece of mail that runs through its system, creating a massive database of metadata that serves whatever purpose the USPS imagines it does. "National security" or whatever the fuck. When not helping the DEA find cash and the occasional drug shipment, the USPS is also apparently keeping tabs on social media users. This includes social media ser...

Wed, Apr 28th 2021 6:28am — Tim Cushing An ambassador who last worked as a US ambassador more than two decades ago recently sued Apple and Google for… well, lets go to the tape. Apparently, its somehow these two companies fault that Telegram users make anti-Semitic comments and otherwise make "Ambassador Marc Ginsberg" (as the plaintiff refers to himself in his complaints) feel unsafe. Ginsberg owns two phones -- one of each variety. Thats why hes suing both Apple and Google. Theres no in...