Over on Taking Liberties, Declan McCullagh has some commentary on provisions in the proposed health care bill, H.R. 3200, that relate to privacy. Some of the provisions in the massive bill include: Section 431(a) of the bill says that the IRS must divulge taxpayer identity information, including the filing status, the modified adjusted gross income,…
Category: U.S.
Michigan Supreme Court permits judges to ban religious headscarves
The Michigan Supreme Court has permitted lower courts to use “reasonable control” over the appearance of those who arrive in court, effectively allowing judges to ban certain religious clothing. In an order [text, PDF] issued Tuesday, the court amended the Michigan Rules of Evidence [text, PDF], motivated by the 2006 case of Ginnah Muhammad. Muhammad…
ACLU seeks records about laptop searches at the border
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today demanding records about the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s policy of searching travelers’ laptops without suspicion of wrongdoing. The lawsuit was filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to learn how CBP’s policy, issued last year, has impacted the civil liberties of travelers during…
Criminal justice student mistakenly jailed after ID theft
Loyola University criminal justice student Darrius Whitehorn got an unwelcome lesson in the workings of the legal system by spending a week behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit. The Englewood native’s ordeal began Aug. 17 when Chicago Police officers approached him and his roommate in a park near Lake Shore Drive and Chicago…