Round Up!

I’ve been tied up this week in a trial training program put on by the Cincinnati Bar Association. I am really honored to be a part of the faculty, which includes some of the best trial lawyers in the area. But it’s been a little time consuming. As a result, I’ve not posted anything this week. I apologize. So, to try to make amends, I offer several items:

1.  Mug Shot Legislation – I have in the past compared operators of commercial mug shot businesses to stink bugs. And I feel I owe an apology. To the stink bugs.  By “commercial mug shot operators”, I mean folks who post mug shots online and then charge the subjects a fee to take it down. Now Missouri, has introduced legislation to deal with these sleaze bags. And while the Missouri legislature has my sympathy, I think there are significant First Amendment issues with the law. Not sure this is going to fly.

2.  What Keeps Twitter Lawyers Busy – Apparently, Twitter has seen a 46% increase in government requests for information in the first half of 2014 versus the last half of 2013. I suspect this is a trend that will continue.

3.  ACPA Has Teeth –  A company called Optionsxpress recovered a $100,000 judgment under the federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act recently from a competitor that fraudulently registered confusingly similar domain names. 

4. Virtual Parking – This is not related to any legal issue at all, but it’s cool. Follow this link and see if you can parallel park a car with your mind.  It works. Too bad this option wasn’t available when I took my first driving test nearly 40 years ago. I flunked when I managed to run my dad’s old Malibu up on the curb during the parking test!