Privacy Law Commons^™

Secrecy On Steroids: How Overzealous State Confidentiality Laws Expose Leakers And Whistleblowers To Retaliatory Prosecution, Frank D. Lomonte, Anne Marie Tamburro

University of Miami Law Review

It is well-documented that the federal government has a secrecy problem. Thousands of times a year, inconsequential documents are needlessly stamped “classified,” which can mean prison for anyone who leaks them. But the addiction to secrecy doesn’t stop with the Pentagon. State public-records statutes are riddled with their own local version of “classified information” that puts people at risk of prosecution even for well-intentioned whistleblowing.

The problem is particularly acute in Florida, where one of the state’s highest-ranking elected officials spent almost two years as the target of a criminal investigation for releasing records about an unresolved sexual harassment complaint …

Some Limits On The Judicial Power To Restrict Dissemination Of Discovery, Thomas C. Bradley

Maine Law Review

The pretrial process of discovery governed by Federal and Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 26 enables plaintiffs in product liability actions to delve where few people have delved before—into a corporation's internal memoranda, competitive practices, and secret product or design information as well as other less sensitive information in a company's possession. Discovery, in this context as in others, is a powerful tool determined by the courts to be necessary for the just litigation of claims. As a balance to the leeway given parties to compel production of information in discovery, federal and Maine courts have the authority under Federal …

Trust: A Model For Disclosure In Patent Law, Ari Ezra Waldman

Indiana Law Journal

How to draw the line between public and private is a foundational, first-principles question of privacy law, but the answer has implications for intellectual property, as well. This project is one in a series of papers about first-person disclosures of information in the privacy and intellectual property law contexts, and it defines the boundary between public and nonpublic information through the lens of social science —namely, principles of trust.

Patent law’s public use bar confronts the question of whether legal protection should extend to information previously disclosed to a small group of people. I present evidence that shows that current …

Rethinking Reporter's Privilege, Ronnell Andersen Jones

Michigan Law Review

Forty years ago, in Branzburg v. Hayes, the Supreme Court made its first and only inquiry into the constitutional protection of the relationship between a reporter and a confidential source. This case - decided at a moment in American history in which the role of an investigative press, and of information provided by confidential sources, was coming to the forefront of public consciousness in a new and significant way - produced a reporter-focused "privilege" that is now widely regarded to be both doctrinally questionable and deeply inconsistent in application. Although the post-Branzburg privilege has been recognized as flawed in a …

Chain-Link Confidentiality, Woodrow Hartzog

Georgia Law Review

Disclosing personal information online often feels like
losing control over one's data forever; but it does not have
to be that way. This Essay proposes a "chain-link
confidentiality" approach to protecting online privacy.
One of the most difficult challenges to guarding privacy in
the digital age is the protection of information once it is
exposed to other people. A chain-link confidentiality
regime would link the disclosure of personal information
to obligations to protect that information as the
information moves downstream. It would focus on the
relationships not only between the discloser of information
and the initial recipient but also between …

Making The Plaintiff ’S Bar Earn Its Keep: Rethinking The Hospital Incident Report, Katherine Mikk

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Telling Stories And Keeping Secrets, Abbe Smith

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ef Cultural Travel V. Explorica: The Protection Of Confidential Commercial Information In The American And Canadian Contexts, Suzanne White

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Commercial information, once relegated to paper files stored in cabinets, is now more likely to be in digital form, allowing a myriad of people to access its contents. These electronic storehouses can subsequently be stored on the Internet, providing a handy but some- what risky means of archiving valuable information. The United States Court of Appeals (1st Circ.) judgment EF Cultural Travel v. Explorica1 is a clear indicator of the way in which the advent of the Internet has completely changed the constructive meaning of the traditional ‘‘office file’’. This paper attempts to provide an under- standing of the scope …

In Light Of Reason And Experience: Against A Crime Fraud Exception To The Psychotherapist-Patient Privilege, Catherine Thompson Dobrowitsky

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues against the adoption of a crime fraud exception to the federal psychotherapist-patient privilege. Part I argues that the restrictive legal elements of the privilege adequately exclude fraudulent or criminal statements from protection. Part II addresses the needed distinction between the dangerous patient exception and the crime fraud exception to the psychotherapist-patient privilege and concludes that the adoption of a crime fraud exception would threaten a limited dangerous patient exception. Part III contends that the policies underlying the attorney-client and psychotherapist-patient privileges must be distinguished and do not merit a shared crime fraud exception. This Note concludes that …

Sender Beware: The Discoverability And Admissibility Of E-Mail, William Decoste

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note will explore the current body of jurisprudence concerning the discoverability and admissibility of e-mail in both the civil and criminal contexts. Beginning with a brief explanation of the relevant forms of information technology and electronic communication, it will examine the common misconceptions that fuel the ongoing imprudent use of e-mail. It will then trace the development of the case law, from the foundational cases that first confronted electronic evidence to recent precedent specifically addressing the various forms of contemporary e-mail. Federal statutory law regulating the acquisition and use of electronic communications will also be discussed. This Note will …

Psychosocial Risks Of Storing And Using Human Tissues In Research, Jon F. Merz

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Merz argues that genetics technology makes it more compelling that researchers plan more carefully for the collection and disposition of information derived from subjects' tissues and blood.

Social Issues Of Genome Innovation And Intellectual Property, Elaine Alma Draper

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Draper's focus is the use of personal information derived from genome research. She identifies several potential problems, including access to and control of genetic information, employment discrimination and social stratification. She also recommends possible solutions.

A Study In Regulatory Method, Local Political Cultures, And Jurisprudential Voice: The Application Of Federal Confidentiality Law To Project Head Start, Richard C. Boldt

Michigan Law Review

This article focuses on one particular set of issues raised by the effort to coordinate the activities of Head Start centers with those of substance abuse treatment programs and the introduction of treatment and prevention functions into the daily interactions of Head Start staff and parents. These issues involve the disclosure of potentially damaging information about a Head Start parent's drug or alcohol abuse and the confidentiality considerations that arise when she or he has sought or received treatment for that abuse. Although it is possible to characterize these issues as technical, doctrinal questions of statutory and regulatory interpretation, it …

A Study In Regulatory Method, Local Political Cultures, And Jurisprudential Voice: The Application Of Federal Confidentiality Law To Project Head Start, Richard C. Boldt

Michigan Law Review

This article focuses on one particular set of issues raised by the effort to coordinate the activities of Head Start centers with those of substance abuse treatment programs and the introduction of treatment and prevention functions into the daily interactions of Head Start staff and parents. These issues involve the disclosure of potentially damaging information about a Head Start parent's drug or alcohol abuse and the confidentiality considerations that arise when she or he has sought or received treatment for that abuse. Although it is possible to characterize these issues as technical, doctrinal questions of statutory and regulatory interpretation, it …

Medical And Psychotherapy Privileges And Confidentiality: On Giving With One Hand And Removing With The Other, Steven R. Smith

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Newsman's Privilege: Protection Of Confidential Associations And Private Communications, Wayne C. Dabb Jr., Peter A. Kelly

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The purpose of this comment is to determine whether the confidential associations and-or private communications of a newsman are privileged.

Banking-Disclosure Of Records-The Duty Of A Bank As To Customer Information, Robert B. Wessling S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The purpose of this comment, therefore, is to describe the scope of the banker's duty as to customer information as best it can be discerned in light of the increasing exchange of credit information and increasing resort to such information by government agencies-particularly the Internal Revenue Service. In the process, it is hoped that attention will be drawn to the uncertainty which exists in this area, perhaps prompting action by the states or the banks themselves to clarify the scope of the duty and to encourage uniform treatment of customer information in a manner consistent with this duty.

Group For The Advancement Of Psychiatry: Confidentiality And Privileged Communication In The Practice Of Psychiatry, Henry Weihofen

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Confidentiality and Privileged Communication in the Practice of Psychiatry. Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry.