Category Archives: California
2014
9:00 AM
2014
8:01 PM
Trading in your old cell phone?
You may not want to rely on the store’s salesperson to wipe your phone clean.
Woman sues Sprint over posting of intimate photos from traded-in phone
A Sprint worker found two images of the woman engaged in sex and uploaded them to her Facebook page, causing her much embarrassment, the lawsuit says…
Johnson’s suit said she traded in her HTC Evo telephone at the Sprint store … in April 2013 and was assured by a worker that its contents would be wiped clean. She had forgotten that the two intimate photos were among more than 5,000 on her old phone, her lawyer said.
About a month later, a friend called Johnson to tell her that compromising photographs had been posted on her Facebook page, the lawsuit said.
The suit said Sprint told Johnson that the telephone had been sent to a plant in Louisville, Ky., to be refurbished. Her lawsuit alleges that an unidentified Sprint employee at that plant accessed the photographs.
[JML]
2014
6:42 PM
California Supreme Court: Charging a cover can make social host liable for injuries caused by “obviously intoxicated minor”
The California Supreme Court sent a warning Monday to high school and college students who host liquor parties and charge admission: If you serve a drink to an obviously intoxicated minor who later causes a crash, you’ll be held responsible.
…
A 1978 state law eliminated liability for social hosts and allowed suits only against bars and retailers that sold alcohol to obviously intoxicated minors. A recent state law extended legal responsibility to any adult who sold or served liquor to a minor who caused an accident.
Monday’s ruling applied the same standard to minors who charge admission for parties where liquor is served, treating them as the equivalent of bars. State law still exempts those who sell or serve drinks to adults, who remain solely responsible for the damage they cause.
Source: Court holds young hosts responsible for drunken guests, SFGate
Read the case here (PDF).
[JML]
2013
8:45 PM
Live Internet Viewing of 9th Circuit En Banc Proceedings
The 9th Circuit becomes the first federal court of appeal to launch its own live-streaming coverage of oral arguments:
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will provide live video streaming of its en banc proceedings, beginning with five cases scheduled for oral arguments December 9-11, 2013, in the James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco. Effective December 9, Internet users will find links to the video streams here or by visiting www.ca9.uscourts.gov and clicking on the link labeled “En Banc Video Streaming.”
Considered a leader in the use of technology to increase public access, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is one of two federal appellate courts to allow the news media to use cameras in the courtroom. Since the early 1990s, Ninth Circuit appellate panels have granted 378 media requests for still and video photography of often high-profile cases.
Since 2003, the court has been using its own technology to provide public access to digital audio recordings of all oral arguments heard at all locations on a next-day basis. Video recording capability was later added. Today, all 11 courtrooms in the four Ninth Circuit courthouses are video equipped. Three courtrooms – one each in San Francisco, Pasadena and Portland – are equipped with high-definition video cameras.
Digital files containing audio and video recordings of court proceedings are available online at http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/media/.
This is the first time the court will use its own technology to deliver live video of a proceeding over the Internet. Broadcast and cable news networks have previously provided live coverage of Ninth Circuit court proceedings, including Internet viewing.
Source: Internet Viewing of En Banc Proceedings, 9th Circuit website
[JML]