Done with Criminal Law, on to Contracts and Immigration

• The archive and the state

  Archives, the collection of files and materials (electronic or physical) stored and maintained for future reference, have an intimate connection with state power--after all, those who are in power fund and create them, leading archives to reflect the ideas, beliefs and sometimes contradictions of those who control them.

  
  
• Google executives on trial for criminal liability in Italy

  I'm generally in favor of holding companies liable for their actions -- after all, if we treat corporations as "persons" under the law, then they should have responsibilities as well as protections and benefits. But I'm not sure about holding executives criminally liable -- perhaps in the case of knowing pollution or conspiracy to cover up product dangers -- but not, I think, for actions they are not directly responsible for, as in this case from Italy.

  
  
• Neil Richards on "Reconciling Data Privacy and the First Amendment"

  In "Reconciling Data Privacy and the First Amendment," argues that privacy regulation is not speech regulation at all, and, additionally, that in commercial contexts at least, "speech restrictions ... have never triggered heightened First Amendment scrutiny." In other words, either the data being protected isn't "speech" in the legal sense, or "because they are legitimate speech regulations under existing doctrine."

  
  
• A dispute over the rights to e-book editions

  That publishers and authors (or their estates) should be arguing over rights to production electronic editions is no surprise. This sort of dispute is a standard part of contract law, and comes up anytime a new market not anticipated in a contract opens up. Can traditional publishers fend off this move through litigation and forceful contract negotiations? Or will we see increasing alternatives to traditional publishers in the e-book realm?

  
  
• Will legal software replace lawyers?

  Software won't replace lawyers, but it will reduce the demand for certain routine legal services and raise the complexity of litigation. Those without the software will be at a disadvantage. It will also cut into the work of paralegals. But not lawyers.

  
  

Post title: Done with Criminal Law, on to Contracts and Immigration

Authored by: krisnelson

Date posted: May 10, 2007

Categorized as: education • law

Tagged with: law

Alternate URL: /2007/05/done-with-criminal-law-on-to-contracts.html