Packets Articles on privacy

Court Holds Actual Viewing or Recording Unnecessary to Establish a Cause of Action for Invasion of Privacy

Plaintiffs, employed on the campus of defendants' residential facility for abused and neglected children, appealed the entry of summary judgment for defendants on their invasion of privacy and related claims. Defendants had installed a video camera in plaintiffs' office without their knowledge or consent, but only connected the camera's wireless receptor to monitoring and recording equipment after plaintiffs went home for the day, disconnecting the receptor again in the morning before they arrived for work. The California appellate court held that actual viewing or recording of plaintiffs was not necessary to their invasion of privacy claim; rather, the creation of access to such information was actionable.



Hernandez v. Hillsides, Inc., 48 Cal.Rptr.3d 780 (Cal.App. 2 Dist. 2006), cert. granted, 53 Cal.Rptr.3d 801 (Cal. 2007).

Published in Friday, March 3, 2007, Volume 4, No. 3
Issues: 
Friday, March 3, 2007, Volume 4, No. 3
Substantive Tags: privacy
Free tags: intrusion publication surveillance

Government May Retain Intermingled Evidence Seized from MLB Drug Testing Labs

In the federal government investigation of steroid use by Major League Baseball players, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth District reversed two orders requiring the return of property seized from two laboratories, Consolidated Drug Testing, Inc. and Quest Diagnostics, as well as an order to quash a grand jury subpoena. The government had obtained warrants authorizing seizure of test results and records for ten named Major League Baseball players, which resulted in the seizure of data intermingled with the results of other players. In addition, an entire computer directory of files was copied and searched. The Major League Baseball Player’s Association objected to the overbreadth of the search and obtained orders to return seized property unrelated to the ten specified players. After reviewing the three orders, a divided Court of Appeals held that the seizure of intermingled data was legal and did not constitute “wholesale seizure.” Moreover, the intermingled evidence need only be sealed and presented to a neutral magistrate for review upon proper objection by the aggrieved party. Thus, all three orders were reversed, although the cases of seized property were remanded for magistrate review of the evidence.



United States. v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, (9th Cir. Dec. 27, 2006).

Published in Thursday, February 2, 2007, Volume 4, No. 2
Issues: 
Thursday, February 2, 2007, Volume 4, No. 2
Substantive Tags: privacy
Free tags: digital evidence, Fourth Amendment

An Ohio District Court Rejects a Constitutional Claim for Privacy in Personal Information When the Only Identifiable Risk is Fin

An Ohio district court held that a party fails to state a federal privacy claim in personal information when the only risk identified is that of financial harm. Plaintiff Lambert’s personal information, including her driver’s license and social security numbers, were published on a county government’s website, resulting in identity theft and financial loss. The court held that Lambert’s alleged privacy interest in her personal information did not implicate “a fundamental right” or “a right implicit in the concept of ordered liberty” since she only identified a risk of financial harm rather than a risk to personal or bodily integrity. The court also dismissed state law privacy claims taken under supplementary jurisdiction.



Lambert v. Hartmann, No. 1:04CV837, 2006 WL 3833529 (S.D. Ohio Dec. 29, 2006)

Published in Thursday, February 2, 2007, Volume 4, No. 2
Issues: 
Thursday, February 2, 2007, Volume 4, No. 2
Substantive Tags: privacy
Free tags: Fourth Amendment