Liking Free Speech: Facebook Inc. and the American Civil Liberties Union are supporting a Virginia deputy sheriff in a First Amendment dispute in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, The Washington Post reports. The question: Is "liking" something on Facebook free speech? A trial judge ruled against the sheriff's deputy, saying that "liking" a page on Facebook isn't protected because it doesn't involve an actual statement. Facebook's amicus brief is here.
Obscured: The New York Times reports on the laundering case against Standard Chartered, saying the bank, like others, exploited a law that allowed financial institutions to disguise client identities and move money offshore. The New York Department of Financial Services brought the claims against Standard Chartered in an action the report calls particularly embarrassing for the U.S. Treasury Department.
Covered: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled in favor of a whistleblower who is pursuing allegations that Lockheed Martin Corp., his former employer, underbid on a $900 million contract, The National Law Journal reports. The case marks the first time an appeals court has considered whether underbidding can comprise a possible violation under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.
Deal: Federal prosecutors have offered a leniency deal to former traders and other employees at UBS AG in exchange for cooperation in the government's ongoing interest-rate manipulation probe, The Wall Street Journal reports. Prosecutors are hopeful the cooperators will turn against higher-ups suspected of orchestrating the alleged rate rigging, the report said.
Ethics Roadmap: New rules in New York state govern the conduct of prosecutors who discover information that a convicted defendant didn't commit the crime. The New York Law Journal says the rules require prosecutors to act within a reasonable time to alert the court and defense counsel about the new information. The rules were enacted in response to the growing attention in recent years to wrongful convictions.
Looking Back: The Los Angeles Times talks with scholar Pete Simi, who, years ago, interviewed Wade Michael Page during research on white supremacist groups. The authorities said Page killed six Sikhs in a temple in suburban Milwaukee on Sunday. Page did not give any indication, during the interview, that he could become a mass killer, said Simi, who's now a criminologist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Comments