Most people have experienced a “pocket dial” – be it as the sender or receiver – and some have found themselves in embarrassing situations as a consequence. But should people reasonably expect that conversations overhead during a “pocket dial” call are private and protected? Should the recipient feel obligated to end the call? The Sixth … Continue Reading
A Sixth Circuit panel unanimously held last week in Williams v. City of Cleveland that pretrial detainees forced to “undress in the presence of other detainees and to have their naked genitals sprayed with delousing solution” stated a viable claim under § 1983 and the Fourth Amendment. Judge Griffin wrote the opinion in which Judges Siler … Continue Reading
In an interesting criminal case, United States v. Skinner (09-6497), the Sixth Circuit rejected a Fourth Amendment challenge by a convicted drug runner based on the government’s tracking of location data from his cell phone. Judge Rogers’ opinion chronicles the efforts by government authorities to investigate a multi-state drug operation that utilized “pay as you go” cell phones … Continue Reading
In CMC Telecom v Mich. Bell Telephone Co., No. 09-2239 (pdf), the Sixth Circuit ruled that AT&T could not rely on privacy protections as grounds to withhold the terms of its individualized telecommunications service contracts. The Court held AT&T could redact the contracts before disclosure, as long as the disclosed portions of the contract allowed competitors to … Continue Reading
