Deirdre 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (72)

• On the post: Can A Judge Force A Juror To Reveal Facebook Account Info?

  

  Deirdre ( profile ), 08 Feb, 2011 @ 01:32pm

  Sensible thing would be an in camera hearing where the Judge alone looks at what was posted-- without handing over any personal information-- and determines if it goes over the line.
  
  If it was only that one line then defense is grasping at straws.

• On the post: Mass Copyright Lawsuit Lawyer Petulantly Drops Lawsuit After Called Out For Apparent Ethics Violations

  

  Deirdre ( profile ), 01 Feb, 2011 @ 07:24pm

  There's a lot of sanctions between slap on the wrist and permanent disbarment. I would not be surprised if the judge in this case didn't refer him to the ethics committee without waiting for someone else to file a complaint. I could see him at least being required to have a supervising (competent) attorney if he wants to continue practicing law.

• On the post: Have We Reached A Tipping Point Where Self-Publishing Is Better Than Getting A Book Deal?

  

  Deirdre ( profile ), 06 Jan, 2011 @ 06:55am

  Re: Indpendent Editors

  Freelance editors already are available. Many small digital presses have been using contract editors for years now. Writers can also designate what kind of editing they want-- line editing or just copy editing.
  
  Should cut down on authors complaining that their book was essentially rewritten by the publisher's editor.

• On the post: Pilot Group Urges Pilots To Refuse Naked Backscatter Scans, And Avoid Groping Pat Downs

  

  Deirdre ( profile ), 10 Nov, 2010 @ 12:08pm

  It's that security theatre you all are always talking about. Same reason that the guard in a local government office waves his magic security wand at me when the public is around but ignores me when there is no one else to see. Everyone has to be seen to be treated the same.

• On the post: The 'Spam Filter Ate My Notice' Reasoning Convinces Court To Extend Deadline

  

  Deirdre ( profile ), 08 Nov, 2010 @ 12:43pm

  Re: Re: The Real WTF

  You don't practice law do you? Electronic filing and notification by email from the Court is the only way that the Federal Court system wants to communicate now. Between parties service is still by regular mail.
  
  Many states are heading (if not already there) the same way.
  
  And most of the time it's not bad. But when it goes bad it goes very very bad.

• On the post: Google Begins Blurring German Houses In Street View On Request

  

  Deirdre ( profile ), 04 Nov, 2010 @ 06:52am

  I Want the Street Scene Car to Come Back Thru!

  The picture of my house was taken about three years ago and it looks terrible. We've done a lot of work on the house and landscaping since then and hired and hired a much better lawn care person. I want to show it off on Google.

• On the post: Juror Using iPhone To Look Up Definition Of 'Prudence' Leads To Mistrial

  

  Deirdre ( profile ), 16 Sep, 2010 @ 06:48am

  Massive lack of knowledge about jurisprudence (ha!) and history of juries. Juries in the US/British system developed from both Germanic tribe custom (Anglo Saxon) and Greek custom of using respected citizens as fact finders in legal cases. This evolved into the modern system of the jurer as the trier of fact while the judge deals with the law of the case.
  
  Each side presents jury instructions including definitions of words that are considered important citing statute or case law in support of the definition desired. The Judge after discussion with both counsel if needed then instructs the jury as to the law of the case that they are to follow.
  
  A definition from the internet does not take into consideration the fact that many words when used in a legal sense become "terms of art" with specific meanings when used in a case-- hence jury instructions.
  
  Can't use a dictionary, can't use the internet. Low tech or high tech, it doesn't matter.

• On the post: FCC Asked To Block New Cartoon Series… For The Children

  

  Deirdre ( profile ), 15 Sep, 2010 @ 03:58pm

  I'm going to really show my age. Smurfs were being sold in college bookstores before they were made it into cartoons. They stocked them next to Hello Kitty!

• On the post: New Research Suggest Google Book Search Helps Publishers A Lot More Than It Hurts

  

  Deirdre ( profile ), 25 Aug, 2010 @ 06:54am

  Google books value for me is access to oop books and emphera that have been long ago purged from my local public library due to the lack of circulation. It would take a lot of digging in a University library to come up with popular male fashions from 1911, but I found it on Google in a few seconds from a period source, i.e., not a retrospective look at male fashions for the second decade of the 20th century which has been run through the filter of time.
  
  I also had the pleasure of running into a book scanned by Google about a notorious crime in England, written by an acquaintance of the family involved and with notes hand written by the author of a later account of the events. The book had come from his personal library. That was a treasure.

• On the post: Lawyer For Mother Accused Of Killing Baby, Threatens Separate Lawsuit Over People Copying His Facebook Photos

  

  Deirdre ( profile ), 29 Jul, 2010 @ 05:08am

  I guess that is the photoshopped picture below the statement in red print:

  Disclaimer– exclusive original content copyright and property of Internet Network News, LLC and Blinkoncrime.com. Reproduction of this article , ANY OF IT’S Conclusions, comments or CONTENT, in whole or in part, without proper attribution and source link is strictly prohibited without prior written permission. Onionesque this time, had to. Photo below is a combination of parody and actual images, posted publicly, without copyright or instruction to not 'reproduce.'"

• On the post: If You're Going To Steal Something, Perhaps Avoid A Phone Demoing A GPS Tracking Program

  

  Deirdre ( profile ), 22 Jul, 2010 @ 11:04am

  Re: My favorites....

  Toby Duckett was indicted on three counts of bank robbery and three counts of using a .22 caliber handgun to commit those robberies. The robberies happened at the Peoples Bank on 20th Street on March 2, March 26, and April 17. According to the indictment, Duckett stole $1,355 in the first robbery, $10,600 in the second, and $4,846 in the third robbery Huntington Police arrested Duckett at his home on April 22. He lived just steps from the bank.

  My hometown should be so ashamed. http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/91892984.html

• On the post: Quackwatch Sued For Suggesting Medical Lab Quackery

  

  Deirdre ( profile ), 01 Jul, 2010 @ 03:38pm

  "Dr. Stephen Barret and his minions"? OMG who wrote this? A summer intern?