Canada dispatch: Ottawa 'Freedom Convoy' pushed out by police operation
Law students from the University of Ottawa are filing dispatches for JURIST on the “Freedom Convoy” protest in Canada’s capital that has paralyzed the city for some three weeks. Here, 3L Andrew Warkentin reports. I could sense that there was something odd in the air from the moment I woke up this morning. Living just off [...]
An group of anonymous gun owners (“the plaintiffs”) filed a federal Complaint Wednesday against California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta to prevent enforcement of Assembly Bill 171 (AB171), signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in September, which allows the state to share personal information of gun owners with gun violence research organizations. The plaintiffs [...]
JURIST is launching a new series of dispatches from major US states written by JURIST correspondents “on the ground” in those jurisdictions. JURIST Operations Director Ram Eachambadi files this report from Los Angeles. A day after the US Supreme Court’s refusal to block Texas Senate Bill 8 (SB8) for the second time, California Governor Gavin [...]
Supreme Court hears oral arguments in crucial immigration and ERISA cases
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in Patel v. Garland (“the immigration case”) asking whether a federal court can review a decision by an agency within the Department of Justice ruling that a person is ineligible for permanent residency and in Hughes v. Northwestern University (“the fiduciary case”) requesting clarification regarding the fiduciary obligation [...]
Activists and rights groups sue California sheriff over illegal sharing of license plate data
Local activists and rights groups in California filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Marin County Sheriff for illegally sharing the license plate and other sensitive data of drivers with federal and out-of-state agencies over a period of years. Three local residents filed the suit, represented by lawyers from the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), [...]
Canada privacy regulator finds ID scanning technology at Alberta liquor stores are illegal
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OPIC) of Canada published on Thursday the findings of its investigation into Alcanna Inc.’s retail liquor stores in Alberta. The investigation found that Alcanna’s use of ID scanning technology violated the Personal Information Protection Act of Alberta (PIPA) by collecting more than the reasonable extent of personal data. [...]
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Thursday that his office is suing Senate Republicans in order to stop them from subpoenaing the personal information of voters. The lawsuit alleges that their efforts to subpoena the personal information of nine million Pennsylvanians invades Pennsylvanians’ right to informational privacy under the Pennsylvania Constitution. As part of a “forensic [...]
Texas legislature passes elections bill tightening voting restrictions
The Texas legislature on Tuesday passed a bill containing a set of new voting restrictions that will tighten the state’s already strict voting rules, which is considered some of the strictest in the nation. Senate Bill 1, titled Election Integrity Protection Act, explicitly states the legislative intent to “reduce the likelihood of fraud in the [...]
US State Department to add gender marker for nonbinary and intersex persons
The State Department on Wednesday issued a statement that it is working to add a gender marker for nonbinary, intersex and gender non-conforming individuals to U.S. passports. The statement by Secretary Antony Blinken affirmed the department’s commitment “to promoting the freedom, dignity, and equality of all people.” Starting immediately, passport applicants will be able to [...]
The Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously struck down a state law provision Friday that allowed police to draw blood from unconscious drivers and test it for alcohol content without a warrant. Under Wisconsin Statute § 343.305, an officer can request a blood sample from the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in the death [...]
